A technical advisor at the Finance Ministry, Dr Thoe Acheampong, has said that overall, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signals support for retaining the stabilisation benefits of domestic gold purchases.
He states that recommended reforms to aspects of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) operations to minimise losses and ensure long-term macroeconomic and institutional sustainability are already being addressed.
His comments one at a time when there are reports that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) had made losses of $214 million due to GoldBod operations, a report the BoG has said is speculative.
Dr Acheampong said in a Facebook post that “Two important governance and risk-mitigation points are worth emphasising. Firstly, the Bank of Ghana—working with the Ministry of Finance and other state institutions— has adopted a 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗙𝗫 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 to improve transparency, limit discretion, and reduce market distortions associated with large DGPP-related inflows.
“Secondly, commodity price volatility and liquidity risks linked to the DGPP can be managed. Ghana’s authorities are actively coordinating actions on pricing, fees, governance, and balance-sheet treatment of gold transactions.”
𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘-𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗔’𝗦 𝗗𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗣𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗠𝗘 (𝗗𝗚𝗣𝗣)
Below is my take on what the latest IMF report says about Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP).
1. 𝗗𝗚𝗣𝗣 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁
The IMF recognises the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) as a key 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲-𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 during a period of acute macroeconomic stress. The historicity of these DGPP reforms traces back to initiatives that commenced on 17 June 2021 under the former NPP administration. The rapid scaling up of domestic gold purchases since then, especially in 2025 from the artisanal and small scale mining (ASM) sector under the NDC administration, has enabled Ghana to meet its medium-term reserve adequacy targets ahead of schedule under the IMF programme, strengthening the credit, external buffers and restoring market confidence. This is a significant achievement.
2. 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗕𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲
The establishment of GoldBod has significantly expanded and formalised domestic gold off-take, particularly from the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector—a well-documented sector for illicit financial flows (IFFs). By purchasing gold directly from ASM producers and integrating it into official reserves management, the DGPP has helped curb IFFs. However, the full magnitude of this effect can be empirically quantified to some reasonable degree. Significantly, the current government is advancing a 𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗠𝗘. On 24 November 2025, GoldBod announced plans to procure and deploy a blockchain-based track-and-trace system by the end of 2026, ensuring that every gram of gold purchased can be traced to a sustainable mine of origin.
3. 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀
The IMF report highlights financial losses associated with DGPP operations, primarily arising from “trading margins and off-taker fees”, underscoring the need for tighter cost and risk controls. In paragraph 36 (page 22), the Fund notes that the now-discontinued Gold-for-Oil (G4O) component generated losses of US$128 million (0.15% of GDP) in 2024, of which 30% was attributable to the sale of US$0.8 billion in gold. It further reports that losses from ASM doré gold transactions reached US$214 million (0.2% of GDP) by the end of Q3 2025, largely due to trading losses and GoldBod off-taker fees. For context, the Bank of Ghana purchased US$7.6 billion worth of gold under the DGPP through August 2025, of which US$5 billion (66%) was doré gold sourced from ASM miners between April and August.
4. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀
Two important governance and risk-mitigation points are worth emphasising. Firstly, the Bank of Ghana—working with the Ministry of Finance and other state institutions— has adopted a 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗙𝗫 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 to improve transparency, limit discretion, and reduce market distortions associated with large DGPP-related inflows. Secondly, commodity price volatility and liquidity risks linked to the DGPP can be managed. Ghana’s authorities are actively coordinating actions on pricing, fees, governance, and balance-sheet treatment of gold transactions.
5. 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗜𝗠𝗙 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Overall, the IMF signals support for retaining the stabilisation benefits of domestic gold purchases. Recommended reforms to aspects of the DGPP operations to minimise losses, and ensure long-term macroeconomic and institutional sustainability are already being addressed.
