Dr. Johnson Asiama stated this at the 77th Annual New Year School and Conference of the University of Ghana, which was on the theme “Building the Ghana We Want Together for Sustainable Development,” when he responded to the public conversation on the GoldBod and the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP).

Dr. Asiama said the GoldBod was no longer a concept, “it is operational and has been embedded within our macroeconomic framework, reshaping how Ghana captures value from its gold resources while strengthening external buffers.”

“The relevant question is therefore not whether GoldBod should exist, but how it should be governed, refined, and sustained in the national interest,” the Governor stated.

He said the conversation on the DGPP mattered not because it was controversial, but because it speaks directly to how Ghana manages strategic national priorities at moments of stress and transition.

Dr. Asiama explained that the DGPP was introduced at a period of acute vulnerability when foreign exchange buffers were severely constrained and market confidence was fragile. Its core objective, he said, was to strengthen reserves, stabilise the cedi and create room for macroeconomic recovery by leveraging the country’s gold resources.

Judged against this stabilisation objective, Dr. Asiama noted that the programme played a vital role and said the stability achieved in the economy came at a cost.

The Governor said that since the introduction of the DGPP, including the G40, G4Forex, and G4R arrangements, the BoG had borne the financial burden of implementing a national strategic policy aimed at protecting the wider economy and restoring confidence. That, he stressed, was a deliberate decision taken in the national interest.

Dr. Asiama said that as national priorities evolved, policies must also adapt. In that regard, he said, several measures were undertaken in 2025 to refine the DGPP.

“These included the cancellation of the G4O, refinement of aspects of the G4R, and the strengthening of governance, transparency and risk management, particularly within the artisanal and small-scale gold trading segment,” he said.

Dr. Asiama noted that settlement risks were reduced through the introduction of payment-before-release requirements and the ring-fencing of off-take proceeds, while pricing structures were improved through reductions in discounts, agent fees, and assay charges. He added that the institutional role of GoldBod had enhanced coordination across the gold value chain.

Looking ahead to 2026, the Governor said the G4R programme must be more firmly anchored within the broader Government of Ghana framework as a shared national priority, with responsibilities distributed to ensure long-term sustainability rather than reliance on a single institution.

Dr. Asiama encouraged informed debate, evidence-based analysis, and diverse perspectives on critical national programmes such as the DGPP, stressing that sound policy outcomes were strengthened through transparency and collective responsibility.