EXPLAINER: What drove the GH˘21.88 billion gold programme loss?
Tue Aug 25 2026
The reported GH˘21.88 billion loss under Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) in 2025 has raised questions about the cost of buying, processing and selling gold, as well as the programme’s overall financial impact on the country.
At the centre of the debate is an important distinction; the GH˘21.88 billion figure does not necessarily mean that GH˘21.88 billion in cash was lost. A significant component of the reported amount is an exchange-rate adjustment, arising from differences between the rates used to purchase gold locally and those applied when the transactions are recorded for financial reporting purposes.
GhanaWeb Business takes a closer look at the programme to break down the figures and explain what is behind the reported GH˘21.88 billion loss.
The exchange-rate effect
Gold purchased from local miners is paid for in Ghana cedis, while proceeds from exported gold are received in US dollars. This creates an exposure to movements in the exchange rate between the point of purchase and the point at which the gold proceeds are recorded. In 2025, that effect became particularly significant because the cedi appreciated by approximately 40.7%.
When the value of the transactions is subsequently converted using the applicable official exchange rate, the difference between the rates used at different stages of the transaction can generate a substantial accounting adjustment.
The distinction is crucial.
An accounting adjustment can affect reported financial results without representing a corresponding cash payment.
Gold purchases doubled within the period
The exchange-rate effect was also amplified by the rapid expansion of the gold purchase programme. Gold purchases increased from 56.47 tonnes in 2024 to 110.99 tonnes in 2025.
That represents an increase of more than 96% in the volume of gold purchased in just one year. The larger the volume of transactions, the greater the potential impact of differences between the exchange rates used during the purchase and reporting stages.
This helps explain why the exchange-rate component became the largest of the reported costs.
What about the gold discount?
Another issue at the heart of the debate is the offtake discount applied when doré gold is sold to international buyers. The discount is not simply money handed to buyers. It is intended to cover costs associated with getting the gold from the point of purchase to the international market.
These costs include transportation, security, insurance, guarantees, shipping, refining, logistics and marketing. Doré gold is therefore typically sold below the prevailing spot price to reflect these costs.
Ghana's discount was as high as 2% before 2025, before being reduced to 1.3% in 2025 and subsequently to 1%.
The reduction was facilitated by a shift from a single-offtaker model to multiple approved offtakers, increasing competition for Ghana’s gold and allowing for the negotiation of better commercial terms.
The cost of processing the gold
The programme also involves transaction and operational charges.
The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) assay charge, which covers the testing and certification of gold shipments, stood at 0.25% before 2025. It was reduced to 0.20% and subsequently to 0.15%. The GoldBod service fee, which compensates the institution for procuring gold on behalf of the programme, was reduced from 0.50% before 2025 to 0.40% during 2025 and subsequently to 0.20%.
These reductions indicate efforts to lower the cost of processing and exporting Ghana's gold.
Who buys the gold?
The gold is sold to approved commercial offtakers. The entities undergo Know Your Customer (KYC) checks and enhanced due diligence before being approved. However, their identities are not publicly disclosed because of confidentiality and data protection requirements. That lack of public disclosure is likely to remain an area of interest in the wider debate over the programme, particularly given the scale of the transactions involved.
Why the GH˘21.88bn headline can be misleading
The biggest challenge in understanding the reported loss is treating the entire GH˘21.88 billion as though it represents one conventional business loss.
It does not.
The figure brings together different elements, including foreign exchange effects, price differences and transaction-related costs. The exchange-rate component, in particular, reflects the accounting consequences of purchasing gold in cedis and ultimately realising its value through dollar-denominated exports.
That means the headline figure needs to be examined alongside the underlying transaction flows before conclusions are drawn about how much money was actually lost.
The bigger economic question
Beyond the accounting treatment, however, the figures raise a broader question about the economics of Ghana's gold strategy. The country is buying substantially more gold in an effort to strengthen its reserves and retain greater value from its natural resources. But doing so at scale exposes the programme to exchange-rate movements, international gold prices, refining costs, logistics expenses and offtake discounts.
In context, the success of the programme therefore cannot be judged simply by the amount of gold accumulated. It must also be assessed by how efficiently Ghana converts those gold purchases into reserves, how much value is retained after transaction costs and how the programme performs under different gold-price and exchange-rate scenarios.
The GH˘21.88 billion figure consequently offers a bigger lesson as the government is keen on expanding Ghana's gold purchases to strengthen the country's reserves, but the financial outcome depends heavily on how the transactions are structured and how external market conditions move. For policymakers, the critical issue is not only how much gold Ghana buys, but how much value Ghana ultimately retains from that gold.
Source: https://www.ghanaweb.com