By Magdalene Andoh
The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has ended its role as a gold-buying agent for the Bank of Ghana (BoG), marking a major shift in the financing and operations of the country’s domestic gold purchasing programme.
Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, Esq., disclosed this in an interview on X, explaining that since March 2026, the institution has stopped receiving funds from the central bank to purchase gold on its behalf.
He said GoldBod has instead transitioned to mobilising its own financing from commercial banks and gold offtakers to support gold aggregation for export and reserve accumulation.
According to Mr. Gyamfi, GoldBod inherited the buying-agent arrangement previously undertaken by the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) under the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
Following its establishment in April 2025, GoldBod continued operating under the arrangement for about a year, purchasing and aggregating gold with funding provided by the Bank of Ghana.
Mr. Gyamfi explained that under the previous structure, the central bank bore the costs associated with gold aggregation, in line with arrangements it had maintained with buying agents.
However, he said GoldBod has now moved to a more independent financing model, raising funds directly from commercial banks and offtakers to finance its gold purchases.
He noted that the new arrangement has so far produced positive results, enabling GoldBod to strengthen its operational independence while continuing to mobilise substantial volumes of gold for export and reserve accumulation.
The GoldBod CEO also disclosed that the previous financing structure involved the Bank of Ghana acting as an intermediary between GoldBod and commercial banks in facilitating foreign exchange transactions.
Under that arrangement, businesses requiring foreign currency were able to access dollars for the importation of goods and services.
GoldBod, however, has asked the Bank of Ghana to discontinue that intermediary role because of the recurring costs associated with the arrangement.
Going forward, Mr. Gyamfi said GoldBod will engage commercial banks directly to mobilise foreign exchange generated from its gold operations and contribute to liquidity in the foreign exchange market.
He said the new approach is expected to strengthen GoldBod’s contribution to foreign exchange mobilisation while reducing the financial costs associated with the former intermediation structure.
Mr. Gyamfi further indicated that GoldBod’s increasing capacity to generate and mobilise foreign exchange has become important to commercial banks and businesses that require dollars for international transactions.
He linked the increased foreign exchange inflows from GoldBod’s operations to improvements in Ghana’s foreign exchange position, including support for the stability and appreciation of the cedi.
Meanwhile, GoldBod, in consultation with the Ministry of Finance, is reviewing and restructuring its funding arrangements with commercial banks to ensure that the new financing model remains sustainable and responsive to developments in the gold sector and the wider economy.
The transition marks another significant stage in GoldBod’s development barely a year after its establishment.
From initially operating as an agent for the central bank, the institution has progressively taken on a more direct role in gold aggregation, export and foreign exchange mobilisation under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).
The shift to self-funded gold aggregation is expected to further strengthen GoldBod’s operational independence while positioning the institution as a key player in Ghana’s formal gold value chain and broader foreign exchange mobilisation efforts.
