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Outgoing Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has defended the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), insisting that the financial losses being attributed to its operations should instead be understood as costs incurred in efforts to stabilise the cedi and strengthen Ghana’s economy.
Mr Ayariga said the government’s decision to increase the quantity of gold purchased through GoldBod had resulted in higher costs under the programme, but argued that the figures should not be viewed simply as losses without considering the wider economic benefits.
His comments come amid an ongoing debate over GoldBod’s operations, with the Minority in Parliament claiming that the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme has resulted in losses of about US$1.7 billion.
Speaking in Parliament on Monday, August 24, 2026, Mr Ayariga said the government’s gold purchasing policy had played a role in maintaining the stability of the cedi and keeping inflation relatively low.
He argued that the financial costs associated with the programme were necessary to support the country’s currency.
“In this house, we have consistently demonstrated that what you call losses are actually costs that this country has to pay in order to maintain the strength of our currency today,” he said.
Mr Ayariga further criticised the Minority for focusing on the reported losses without sufficiently considering the broader economic impact of the policy.
He explained that the increased volume of gold purchased by the government had also contributed to the rise in costs recorded under the programme.
“Even if the losses have increased, it is because this government has pursued policies that have expanded the volume of gold that has been purchased by the government. Those are facts, and you know the facts,” he said.
The outgoing Majority Leader described the GoldBod initiative as “one of the best policies that have ever been implemented by any government in this country”, crediting it with helping to strengthen the cedi and support inflation stability.
He also reaffirmed the government’s backing for GoldBod and its management despite the concerns raised by the Minority.
“And so we stand strongly behind GoldBod and the management of GoldBod. We stand strongly behind the Finance Minister and the management of the finances of this country,” he said.
Ayariga explains IMF, World Bank concerns
Mr Ayariga also referred to concerns raised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank regarding the treatment of transactions involving GoldBod.
He said his understanding was that the two institutions expect any losses arising from the current structure of the programme to be absorbed by the government rather than the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
“Whatever the IMF has said, I understand them to be saying that even though there will be losses based on the way we have designed the system, they expect it to be borne by the government and not by the central bank,” he said.
Mr Ayariga disclosed that reforms were already being undertaken to transfer the transactions from the central bank to the government.
He expressed confidence that the proposed changes would address the concerns surrounding the programme and its impact on the Bank of Ghana.
“And so reforms are underway to shift the transactions from the central bank to the government. And so I believe that ultimately your major concerns will be addressed,” he added.