The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Ghana to further reduce the operational costs associated with the country’s domestic gold purchase programme, warning that the costs could continue to pose fiscal risks despite the transfer of the programme from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).
The IMF said the transfer of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) to GoldBod had eliminated the central bank’s direct exposure to operational losses from domestic gold purchases, but stressed that the programme would continue to constitute a fiscal risk as long as the state remained involved in domestic gold procurement.
According to the IMF’s 2026 Article IV Consultation and Sixth Review under the Extended Credit Facility, GoldBod became responsible for domestic gold purchases following a memorandum of understanding signed in July 2026 between the government, the BoG and GoldBod.
The arrangement means GoldBod and the government now absorb the operational costs associated with the programme, including service fees, assay charges and trading margins, while the costs are to be transparently reflected in the national budget.
The Fund said the move was important in protecting the BoG’s balance sheet after the central bank incurred significant losses from its involvement in the gold purchase programme.
“Containing GoldBod’s costs is critical to financial sustainability and limiting fiscal risks,” the IMF stated.
Under the DGPP, the BoG incurred losses equivalent to 15.3 percent of gross gold purchases, according to the report. The losses were attributed to several factors, including high service fees, assay charges, trading margins and off-taking costs.
The IMF identified the purchase of gold at the foreign exchange bureau exchange rate as a particularly important source of the losses, accounting for about half of the total operational losses.
The authorities have, however, made progress in reducing those costs. The IMF said costs had fallen from the previous level to 11.7 percent in the first quarter of 2026.
Despite that improvement, the Fund said substantially more work was required to reach the 5 percent cost ceiling agreed under the memorandum of understanding governing the transfer of the programme to GoldBod.
It said achieving the target would require a reduction in the foreign exchange spread, streamlining of the gold supply chain, greater competition among service providers and improved operational efficiency.
GoldBod is also expected to use its institutional position to negotiate better terms with off-takers and aggregators.
The IMF noted that GoldBod’s expanded role comes at a time when Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector has become increasingly important to the country’s external position.
Artisanal and small-scale mining gold exports surged to US$10.9 billion, equivalent to 9.5 percent of GDP, in 2025, driven by the scaling up of GoldBod and the DGPP.
However, the sector continues to face challenges, including gold smuggling, limited fiscal revenue and environmental degradation caused by illegal mining.
The IMF said formalising the artisanal and small-scale mining sector would be critical to sustaining its contribution to Ghana’s economic growth and export earnings.
It also noted that fiscal revenue from the sector had fallen significantly following the elimination in 2025 of the 1.5 percent withholding tax on unprocessed precious minerals.
Beyond cost reduction, the IMF wants GoldBod to operate under a more transparent framework.
Under the new Policy Coordination Instrument, GoldBod is expected to publish externally audited annual financial statements, including detailed information on gold purchase volumes, operational costs and fiscal transfers from government.
The institution is also expected to strengthen responsible sourcing and environmental standards for artisanal and small-scale gold purchases.
This will include requiring aggregators and traders to comply with internationally recognised responsible sourcing frameworks and improving traceability systems to combat smuggling and illicit financial flows.
The IMF said GoldBod would also need to enforce environmental compliance and review the fiscal regime governing artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
The authorities, for their part, said they considered the reforms critical to macroeconomic stabilisation and maintained that the shift of DGPP operations to GoldBod would be accompanied by cost reductions.
They also argued that the broader macroeconomic benefits of the programme outweighed its costs.
The IMF, however, cautioned that the DGPP would remain a fiscal risk while state-led domestic gold purchases continue.
The Fund therefore wants greater transparency, lower operating costs and stronger governance to ensure that Ghana’s growing dependence on gold exports does not create new vulnerabilities for the public finances.
