GHANA · CENTRAL BANK
Ghana’s central bank told Parliament that a loss of GH¢17.5 billion (about US$1.5 billion at today’s rate) on its gold-buying programme is an accounting entry, not cash that left the country, according to press reports of the hearing. Paul Bleboo, the Bank of Ghana’s head of gold management, told a committee of Ghana’s Parliament that oversees economic policy on Friday 6 November 2026 that the rise of the cedi, Ghana’s currency, in 2025 created the gap.
For anyone holding Ghanaian debt or trading the cedi, the question is how much of that cost is real. The bank’s audited accounts show a separate, net figure for gold deals.
Key Facts
- What At a parliamentary hearing the bank called a GH¢17.5 billion (about US$1.5 billion at today’s rate) gold shortfall an accounting loss.
- Why The cedi rose 40.7% against the US dollar in 2025; the bank links the gold loss to that rise.
- Audited The 2025 accounts show a separate GH¢9.05 billion (about US$780 million at today’s rate) net loss on gold deals.
- Open The audited accounts carry no GH¢17.5 billion gold line, and the Governor’s written statement omits it.
- Next The bank’s rate-setting panel meets 16 to 18 November; the rate stood at 14.0% in September.
What the Bank of Ghana Told Parliament
Mr Bleboo said gold is bought locally at the market exchange rate but recorded at the bank’s own, lower rate. He called the result “an accounting loss and not a real loss” that covers “a chunk of the total cost” of the 2025 programme.
As an illustration, he described gold bought when a dollar costs about GH¢15 and converted after the cedi has moved to about GH¢12. He presented this as a hypothetical, not as a named deal.
What the Audited Accounts Show
The bank’s audited 2025 accounts record a net loss on gold deals of GH¢9.05 billion (about US$780 million at today’s rate). Of that, GH¢8.85 billion came from Gold for Reserves, the programme that buys gold to turn it into foreign currency, and a net GH¢203 million from Gold for Oil, a scheme that sold gold to help pay for fuel imports and ended in March 2025.
In 2025 the bank bought 2,914,305 fine ounces (a standard gold weight) of doré gold, which is unrefined gold bars, and sold 2,895,426 ounces. The annual report says the gold is sold within the shortest possible time and is not held for price gains.
Note 13 of the annual report says the Gold for Reserves figure includes GH¢7.99 billion (about US$690 million) of realised fair-value gains moved over from other comprehensive income, a line for value changes that skip the profit statement. Other comprehensive income as a whole shows a GH¢19.32 billion (about US$1.66 billion) loss, and the bank’s loss for the year was GH¢15.63 billion (about US$1.34 billion).
How the Cedi’s Rise Enters the Story
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, told the same committee that the cedi gained 40.7% against the dollar in 2025, though his written statement does not link the rise to gold losses. On the bank’s account, when the cedi rises, a dollar from a gold sale is worth fewer cedis than the cedis the bank paid miners for the gold.
Mahamudu Bawumia, Ghana’s former vice-president, and other opposition leaders say the programme cost the bank about US$1.7 billion, citing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 2025 assessment. We covered that claim and the call for an inquiry in our earlier report on the Ghana gold programme loss.
Who Pays From Here
Dr Asiama said moving the cost of domestic gold purchases to the Ghana Gold Board, known as GoldBod, the state gold buyer, should ease the burden on the bank’s balance sheet. The row over GoldBod’s leadership is covered in our report on the opposition’s call for its chief to go.
The cedi has since fallen 7.9% in the first half of 2026 and 9.5% by 18 September, the Governor said. See our report on Ghana’s 6% growth and its reserves and the cedi’s gains on gold sales.
What It Means for You
For holders of Ghanaian bonds or cedi exposure, the audited accounts, not the hearing, are the numbers to anchor on. The Monetary Policy Committee, the bank’s rate-setting panel, meets from 16 to 18 November, after holding the rate at 14.0% in May, July and September.
What Is Not Known
The GH¢17.5 billion figure comes from the hearing; it is not in the Governor’s written statement or the annual report, so how it relates to the GH¢9.05 billion net loss is open. Mr Bleboo described it as “a chunk” of the total cost, so the full cost of the programme is also open.
It is also unsettled how much of the exchange-rate cost the public ultimately bears, a point opposition leaders dispute. Further figures may come from the bank or from any parliamentary inquiry.
Sources: Bank of Ghana, Governor’s statement to Parliament’s Committee on Economy and Development, 6 November 2026; Bank of Ghana, 2025 Annual Report and Financial Statements; committee hearing of 6 November 2026. US$ conversions at GH¢11.65 per dollar, the market close of 6 November 2026, applied to all 2025 figures. More Ghana news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Ghana’s central bank lose money on gold?
Its audited 2025 accounts show a net loss of GH¢9.05 billion (about US$780 million) on gold deals. The bank told Parliament the larger GH¢17.5 billion (about US$1.5 billion at today’s rate) figure is a book loss caused by exchange rates, not cash that left Ghana.
What is a book loss?
A book loss is a drop in value that appears in the accounts without money physically leaving. Here it comes from recording the gold at the bank’s own lower rate rather than the higher market rate paid for it.
Does the opposition accept that explanation?
No. Opposition leaders, citing the International Monetary Fund’s 2025 assessment, say the programme cost the bank about US$1.7 billion.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. How we use AI · Report an error