NewzThe Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has defended its foreign exchange operations after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) questioned the institution’s reported generation of more than $1.3 billion in foreign exchange in August. Media Relations Officer of GoldBod, Prince Kwame Minkah, says the transactions form part of the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP), which he says was approved by Cabinet and Parliament. He explained that the policy is aimed at building Ghana’s gold and foreign exchange reserves to support the stability of the cedi and strengthen the economy.
«“The goal is straightforward: strategically build up our national gold and foreign exchange reserve to stabilize the cedi and protect our economy. That is the focus.”» His comments follow concerns raised by the NPP at a press conference over GoldBod’s reported activities in the foreign exchange market, with the party questioning whether the institution has the requisite licence to engage in forex trading. Mr Minkah said GoldBod’s operations under the policy involve a collaborative financing model bringing together the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Ghana, commercial banks and other key market stakeholders to support artisanal and small-scale mining gold operations.
According to him, the initiative was officially launched on August 3, 2026, and recorded significant activity during its first month. «“So August was a major success, and through the ASM operations alone, we generated what you just mentioned, 1.315 billion U.S. dollars.”» Mr Minkah said GoldBod would provide a more comprehensive response to the NPP’s concerns but maintained that the reported foreign exchange generation was linked to the broader national reserve accumulation strategy.
He said the initiative is ultimately intended to strengthen Ghana’s reserves and contribute to greater stability of the local currency. Karaga MP and former Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, has disputed claims that Ghana’s gold purchase programme was responsible for a significant increase in the country’s foreign exchange reserves. Dr Amin Adam said Bank of Ghana data showed that gold contributed only US$60.9 million, representing 1.3 per cent, of the US$4.716 billion increase in reserves.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, September 1, he also pointed out that Ghana’s actual gold holdings fell from 30.5 tonnes to 18.6 tonnes, representing a 39 per cent decline. “Actual holdings fell from 30.5 tonnes to 18.6 tonnes, a 39% decline, so even that small increase came from the world price rather than from Ghana holding more gold,” he said. According to Dr Amin Adam, other sources contributed significantly more to the growth in reserves, including remittances of US$7.79 billion, cocoa earnings of US$3.86 billion, crude oil exports of US$2.62 billion and foreign direct investment of US$2.61 billion.
He also cited IMF figures showing that foreign currency inflows linked to the programme amounted to US$10.9 billion, out of which the Bank of Ghana sold US$10.6 billion back into the local market. “In practice this operated as a foreign exchange intervention, not a reserve building programme,” he said. Dr Amin Adam acknowledged that foreign exchange intervention could be a legitimate policy decision but argued that it was different from the purpose outlined in the legislation establishing GoldBod.
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