IMF Report raises fresh questions over GoldBod’s losses - IERPP's Economist

Dr. Frank Bannor, an economic analyst, has questioned the losses related to Ghana's gold-buying program following his review of a 45-page International Monetary Fund (IMF) report. He pointed out that the report should be examined more closely, especially paragraph 14 on page 10 which revealed that GoldBod cut assay fees, service fees, and other transaction costs significantly during the first quarter of 2026.

This reduction lowered the reported loss from around 14.5 percent to 11.4 percent within that period. Dr. Bannor argued that if such substantial cost reductions could occur so quickly, it raises the question of why these costs were initially so high. He called for GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to explain the costs involved in the gold-buying program, suggesting these expenses might have been avoidable or were unnecessarily inflated due to the program's structure.

Bannor clarified that the losses seem engineered rather than genuine and stressed the need for transparency and accountability in managing Ghana's gold resources. He urged a thorough review of the IMF report and associated transactions to determine if Ghana could have minimized a significant portion of the reported losses.