The Bank of Ghana has said the GH¢17.5 billion loss linked to its 2025 Domestic Gold Purchase Programme was caused by the cedi’s appreciation and did not represent cash leaving Ghana.
Paul Bleboo, Head of Gold Management, gave the figure to Parliament’s Committee on Economy and Development on Friday, November 6. Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama led the Bank’s delegation at the hearing.
Bleboo said gold was purchased at the local market rate, exported, and the resulting dollars were recorded in cedis about 10 days later. By then, the Bank’s reference exchange rate was considerably lower than the rate used to buy the gold.
In his written statement to the committee, Asiama said the cedi appreciated by 40.7 per cent against the US dollar in 2025. Because a stronger cedi means each dollar converts into fewer cedis, the change created a loss in the Bank’s accounts when the export proceeds were converted.
Bleboo illustrated the effect by referring to a purchase made at about GH¢15 to the dollar, followed by conversion after the rate had moved to approximately GH¢12. He stressed that the figures were an example rather than details of a specific transaction.
“That is a huge accounting loss,” he said.
“So that is what is causing this, and that is for a chunk of the total cost, and it is an accounting loss and not a real loss,” he added.
The Bank’s guide to its 2025 accounts describes the difference as the result of recording artisanal gold bought at the market rate while using the interbank rate for accounting purposes. Bleboo said holding the proceeds in dollars would have prevented the cost from appearing in the accounts in that form.
Net loss was lower than gross exchange-rate effect
The GH¢17.5 billion figure represents the exchange-rate component of the programme’s gross cost. The 2025 financial statements recorded a net loss of GH¢9.05 billion on gold transactions, comprising GH¢8.85 billion for gold held as reserves and GH¢203 million for gold exchanged for oil.
The accounts also recognised GH¢7.99 billion in realised gains on monetary gold within the reserves figure. The Bank said the GH¢17.5 billion should therefore not be treated as an additional loss on top of the GH¢9.05 billion.
In May, Bleboo told TV3 that the gross cost had been about GH¢21 billion, while the net amount borne by the Bank was GH¢9.1 billion. 3News reported those figures when the financial statements were published.
The cedi’s rise also reduced the value in cedis of foreign assets already held by the Bank. The annual report recorded that separate impact as a GH¢19.32 billion loss in other comprehensive income.
Gold programme generated US$10bn
Bleboo told the committee that the programme generated about US$10 billion in foreign exchange during 2025 and increased the country’s reserves by about 11 tonnes of gold. He also cited a purity allowance of 0.7 to 0.8 per cent and said the off-take discount had been reduced to 1 per cent in 2025.
On Thursday, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia told NPP members in Tokyo that trading gold instead of holding it had cost the central bank US$1.7 billion. 3News linked that figure to the IMF’s 2025 assessment. The Bank had not responded by that evening.
Asiama said transferring the cost of domestic gold purchases to the Ghana Gold Board was expected to reduce the burden on the Bank. The government has set aside GH¢5 billion for GoldBod to continue purchasing gold after the Bank stopped funding the programme.
