NPP being mischievous with IMF findings on gold losses – Sammy Ayeh

Sammy Ayeh, a presidential aide, has criticized the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for misinterpreting International Monetary Fund (IMF) findings regarding losses related to Ghana's domestic gold purchasing program. During a recent interview on JoyFM Super Morning Show, Ayeh stated that the NPP is being "mischievous" with the report by attributing all the losses solely to GoldBod, a private company involved in the program.

Ayeh explained that the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme was initiated in 2021, before the NDC government took office, and that the Bank of Ghana had already been involved in the program using PMMC as the buyer. He questioned why the losses recorded during that period were not attributed to PMMC and why the NPP is now blaming GoldBod entirely.

Referring to the IMF report, Ayeh pointed out that the program played a significant role in Ghana's gold exports, exporting approximately $10.9 billion worth of artisanal gold in 2025. Despite the rapid expansion of the program contributing to economic stability, the IMF also identified significant losses, totaling around GH¢5.6 billion in 2024.

Ayeh highlighted that the IMF's report revealed a discrepancy of over $4 billion between gold exports reported by Ghana and gold imports reported by the UAE. He emphasized that the losses related to the Gold-for-Oil program, which was under the NPP during 2024, cannot now be presented as originating solely from GoldBod. For 2025, the IMF estimated losses of around $1.7 billion due to the scaling-up of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.

Ayeh insisted that the IMF report does not support the argument that GoldBod alone is responsible for the losses. He concluded by urging the public to consider the broader history of Ghana's domestic gold purchasing program, including the roles of the Bank of Ghana, PMMC, the Gold-for-Oil program, and the establishment of GoldBod, rather than relying on selectively interpreted IMF findings.