By Magdalene Andoh
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has announced that the Board is set to begin full-scale operations in 2026, marking a major transition in Ghana’s gold trading and reserve accumulation framework.
Speaking on TV3 on Saturday, December 27, 2025, Mr Gyamfi said ongoing reforms will allow GoldBod to move beyond its current role as an agent of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and operate fully in line with the mandate set out in the Ghana Gold Board Act.
“From 2026, GoldBod will take off fully,” he said, explaining that the existing arrangement — under which GoldBod purchases, assays and exports gold on behalf of the Bank of Ghana — was a transitional model inherited from the now-defunct Precious Minerals Marketing Company Limited (PMMC).
Mr Gyamfi noted that GoldBod is barely eight months old and, by law, took over PMMC’s assets, liabilities and existing contracts, including those under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme launched in 2022. As a result, the Board has so far operated largely as an implementing agent within a policy framework designed before its establishment.
“The GoldBod concept as envisioned under the Act has not fully taken off yet,” he said, adding that 2025 has largely been devoted to building the institutional, regulatory and operational foundations required for independent operations.
According to the CEO, the planned transition in 2026 will address long-standing structural and accounting challenges associated with the gold-for-reserves programme, particularly concerns raised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over how related costs are reflected in the books of the Bank of Ghana.
Mr Gyamfi disclosed that the IMF has acknowledged the success of the programme in meeting Ghana’s foreign reserve targets ahead of schedule, but has called for reforms to ensure that the financial burden does not fall solely on the central bank.
“When GoldBod takes off fully, some of the issues the IMF is concerned about in the books of the Bank of Ghana will become a thing of the past,” he said.
Under the planned reforms, GoldBod is expected to exercise its full statutory mandate, including enhanced regulatory and enforcement powers to curb smuggling, reduce leakages and improve pricing efficiency across the gold value chain — functions that were previously unavailable to PMMC and constrained under the agency model.
Mr Gyamfi stressed that GoldBod’s mandate is strategic rather than purely commercial, with a focus on foreign exchange generation and national economic stability rather than profit maximisation.
He added that this policy orientation would continue under the full operational model, supported by improved institutional clarity and financial reporting.
The CEO also said the transition would allow for a clearer separation of roles between GoldBod, the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana, ensuring greater transparency in how costs and benefits associated with gold-backed foreign exchange inflows are accounted for at the national level.
GoldBod’s financial position, he noted, remains sound, with the institution recording surpluses since its establishment and publishing quarterly financial statements in line with legal requirements.
External audits expected in early 2026 are expected to further validate the Board’s financial performance ahead of the full operational rollout.
As Ghana prepares for the next phase of its gold-backed economic strategy, Mr Gyamfi said the 2026 reforms mark a shift from interim arrangements to a permanent, institutional framework aimed at strengthening sovereignty over the gold sector while safeguarding macroeconomic stability.
