The financial integrity of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is under intense scrutiny following revelations that the central bank may have incurred massive losses through its domestic gold purchase program. Atta Issah, Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu and a key voice on the Parliamentary Committee on the Economy, has laid bare the mechanics behind a GH¢9 billion loss, labeling the central bank’s gold acquisition strategy a flawed venture that ignores market realities.
The Mechanics of the Loss
Speaking on the latest financial developments, Hon. Atta Issah provided a detailed breakdown of how the BoG’s gold purchase initiative—often touted as a strategy to shore up reserves—has ironically become a drain on national resources.
According to the Sagnarigu MP, the problem lies in the exchange rate disparity between the BoG’s fixed rates and the reality of the open forex market. The Bank provides US Dollars to the domestic purchasing entity, GOLDBOD, at a set rate—for example, $1 to GH¢10. However, when the entity enters the field to purchase gold from local miners and traders, they find that no gold trader is willing to sell at the Bank’s artificially low rate.
“When they go into the field, you and I know that no gold trader will sell his gold at the BoG rate,” Hon. Issah explained. “The difference between the forex market and the BoG rates reflects the loss.”
This creates a systemic financial hemorrhage, as the central bank effectively subsidizes these purchases at a cost that the economy cannot sustain, resulting in a staggering GH¢9 billion gap.
A Pattern of Questionable Strategy
This revelation arrives alongside broader concerns about the Bank’s management of the national power sector and its overall fiscal health. While the central bank reported an operating loss of GH¢15.63 billion for 2025, experts like Hon. Atta Issah and Dr. Gideon Boako argue that these figures fail to account for deeper losses hidden in Other Comprehensive Income (OCI) and speculative asset maneuvers.
Data from the Energy Commission, which highlights the grid’s capacity growth, provides a stark contrast to the Bank’s financial instability. While the nation has seen an impressive climb in total installed power capacity to 5,749 Megawatts (MW) by the end of 2024—a significant portion of which was driven by NPP-era infrastructure investments—the financial institutions tasked with supporting this growth appear to be struggling to keep their own balance sheets in order.
The Bigger Picture
For Hon. Atta Issah, the gold purchase loss is not an isolated incident; it is symptomatic of a central bank that has prioritized political policy over sound economic principles. By forcing a policy that does not align with the realities of the gold trading market, the Bank of Ghana has managed to turn a potential reserve-building asset into a fiscal burden.
As the Parliamentary Committee on the Economy continues its oversight, the revelations from Hon. Issah provide a clear warning: without a fundamental shift in how the Bank manages its gold purchases and foreign exchange exposure, the cost to the Ghanaian taxpayer will continue to mount.
The question now facing the Bank of Ghana is whether it will continue to defend these “accounting maneuvers” or finally admit that its gold purchase policy is in need of an urgent and total reset. As it stands, the GH¢9 billion loss serves as a grim reminder that when policy ignores the market, the market eventually forces the issue.
