The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) will not ditch its current gold trading strategy because of misgivings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other foreign bodies, the Chief Executive, Sammy Gyamfi, has said.
According to him, President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Board to stay the course on its model, insisting Ghana must pursue what works for the country.
Mr. Gyamfi argued that for years Ghana has implemented advice from Bretton Woods institutions yet failed to achieve the kind of gains now being seen under the GoldBod system.
He was speaking at the Mining in Motion Conference on Tuesday, October 20. “We have heard their opinions, but President Mahama says we should remain focused. We followed these external prescriptions for decades and we did not get these results,” he stressed.
His reaction follows the IMF’s recent flagging of potential losses from GoldBod’s activities and its likely effect on the Bank of Ghana’s books.
Mr. Gyamfi said while Ghana’s IMF programme naturally allows the Fund to assess local policies, that does not mean government must abandon a policy it believes is beneficial.
He noted that government is not shutting its doors to international partners, but when there is a clash of views, Ghana’s interest will come first.
“Where we need to work together, we will. Where we need to share ideas, we will. But when views differ, we will stand for Ghana’s national interest,” he stated.
Defending the Board’s record, Mr. Gyamfi disclosed that GoldBod posted a surplus exceeding GH¢5.4 billion in 2025, with GH¢900 million being operational surplus.
He said the evaluation of GoldBod should go beyond accounting, to include its role in tackling gold smuggling, scaling up official purchases from small-scale miners and shoring up forex inflows.
He added that the policy is intended to ensure more of Ghana’s gold wealth is retained through formal channels and not lost to illicit trade.
Mr. Gyamfi maintained that government is confident the strategy is working and will not backtrack because of concerns over its financial impact.
