The Bank of Ghana has ordered an external audit into the implementation of the Gold for Oil programme covering the period between 2022 and 2024, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Asiama, has announced.
This, Dr Asiama noted, was a result of some cumulative losses estimated at about GH¢2.2 billion recorded during the said period.
He revealed that the Gold for Oil Programme recorded a net loss of about GH¢74 million in 2022, which further increased to GH¢317.69 million in 2023, adding that in 2024, the programme posted a much larger net loss of approximately GH¢1.8 billion, bringing total losses over the three-year period to about GH¢2.2 billion.
Dr Asiama made the revelation when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Parliament yesterday during deliberations on the Auditor-General’s report on Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments at the Central Bank.
“There were quite too many issues under the Gold for Oil Programme that we need to unearth, and, therefore, the board authorised an external audit. We obtained Public Procurement Authority approval about two months ago, and that exercise is currently underway,” Dr Asiama informed the committee.
According to him, while the Gold for Reserves Programme did not record any net loss in 2022, it suffered significant losses in subsequent years.
Additionally, Dr Asiama noted that the programme recorded a net loss of slightly over GH¢1 billion in 2023 and about GH¢3.8 billion in 2024.
He stressed that all figures presented to the committee remained subject to the ongoing audit, adding that it would be premature to comment on the 2025 performance of the programmes.
The Bank’s audited financial statements, Dr Asiama underlined, would be published by March, at which point data for 2025 would be made public.
He noted that the Gold for Reserves Programme would not be discontinued but restructured to improve efficiency, as he addressed the future of the initiative.
Dr Asiama also revealed that serious risk-management lapses had previously existed in the export of gold, particularly from the small-scale mining sector, noting that until last year, some gold consignments were exported without insurance cover after arrival at their destination, a situation he described as risky for the country.
The Bank, he emphasised, had since introduced stricter safeguards, including requiring full payment before consignments are lifted or the provision of an insurance guarantee.
According to Dr Asiama, the measures introduced were aimed at protecting Ghana’s interests and ensuring greater accountability going forward, adding that addressing the challenges identified would require a unified national approach.
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