Renowned economist Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin has cautioned against ascribing Ghana’s recent macroeconomic stability to the GoldBod intervention, arguing that while the domestic gold purchase programme has yielded foreign exchange gains, its structural deficiencies have imposed substantial fiscal costs.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express, the Professor of Finance asserted that credit for stability rightly resides with orthodox fiscal and monetary authorities. He stated that macroeconomic equilibrium is the remit of the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance, not a quasi-commercial entity operating within the minerals value chain. He emphasized that conflating the two risks distorting public understanding of policy efficacy.
Professor Bokpin acknowledged that GoldBod has succeeded in narrowing the divergence between Ghana’s gold export data and importing countries’ import figures, thereby curtailing smuggling and repatriating forex into the formal economy. He however contended that these benefits must be juxtaposed against what he described as design defects in the programme’s architecture. He argued that with more rigorous planning and expert calibration across the value chain, the losses incurred since 2025 could have been significantly mitigated.
The economist further dissected the fiscal trade-offs, pointing to the abolition of the withholding tax on artisanal and small-scale gold exports as a revenue forfeiture that must be factored into any cost-benefit appraisal. He noted that when assessed through a comprehensive value-chain lens, the aggregate fiscal outlay transcends the headline loss figure currently in public discourse, potentially undermining resources earmarked for infrastructure and social services. He also highlighted that the Bank of Ghana’s own balance sheet exposures cannot be ignored in evaluating the intervention’s net impact.
Looking forward, Professor Bokpin observed that government, GoldBod and the central bank have themselves conceded that the current loss trajectory is unsustainable, with exit modalities being contemplated to reduce inefficiencies. He maintained that the benefits in forex retention are material, yet they do not warrant reassigning credit for macroeconomic stability away from fiscal consolidation and monetary tightening.
Author: Korkor Anumu
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