The losses were necessary – Manteaw defends GoldBod’s costly push to win Ghana’s gold market

Dr Emmanuel Steve Asare Manteaw, Co-Chair of Ghana's Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, has argued that the financial losses incurred by the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) in its efforts to secure control of the country's gold market are necessary trade-offs. Manteaw noted that Ghana has faced losses during previous gold purchase programs, yet these were not met with the same level of concern.

During a 2024 interview, he highlighted the need to consider the foreign exchange generated by GoldBod rather than solely focusing on the losses. He cited 2024 as an example, where GoldBod incurred a total loss of ¢5.7 billion ($5.7 billion) from gold purchase programs and domestic gold reserves, despite only generating $4 billion in gold exports that year.

Manteaw considered these losses to be transaction costs, arguing that governments have historically incurred such costs without it being viewed as a failure. He maintained that the wider economic benefits of GoldBod's activities, such as forex stability, lower import costs, inflation, and interest rates, outweighed the program's costs.

These benefits include economic stability, allowing businesses to plan effectively, reduced import costs, and lower inflation and interest rates, all of which contribute to long-term economic growth. Manteaw acknowledged the challenges GoldBod faced in penetrating a market dominated by foreign buyers but emphasized that the better prices offered by GoldBod were necessary to win over Ghanaian miners who were already contracted with foreign entities.