Philip Osei Bonsu, host of Asempa FM’s current affairs programme Ekosiisen, has submitted a formal Right to Information (RTI) request to the Bank of Ghana (BoG), demanding clarity on the financial outcomes of the Gold-for-Reserves (G4R) programme.
The request, dated January 7, 2026, follows concerns raised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which reportedly identified losses of more than $214 million within the first nine months of 2025.
In his petition, Mr Osei Bonsu invoked Article 21(f) of the 1992 Constitution and the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989), requesting detailed information on the performance of the gold-backed initiative. He pointed out that although the BoG’s 2024 Annual Report did not disclose any losses, the central bank has yet to publish a comprehensive account of the programme’s profits or losses since it began.
Specifically, the RTI request seeks data on the annual volumes of gold purchased under the G4R programme, the total value of gold acquired each year, and a year-by-year breakdown of profits or losses recorded.
Mr Osei Bonsu explained that the request is being made in the public interest, stressing the need for transparency and accountability on behalf of his listeners and the wider Ghanaian public.
The Bank of Ghana is currently subject to its annual external audit, and until the audited financial statements are released later in the year, the actual cost or benefit of Ghana’s gold-backed policy remains a topic of heated national discussion.
The renewed calls for disclosure come in the wake of the IMF’s Fifth Review under Ghana’s Extended Credit Facility, which attributed the alleged $214 million loss—about 0.2 per cent of GDP—to trading losses and high off-taker fees.
The central bank, however, has rejected the IMF’s assessment, describing the figures as speculative. BoG insists the G4R programme has played a key role in strengthening the cedi—reported to have appreciated by 40 per cent in 2025—and in boosting gross international reserves to over $13 billion by the end of the year.
Adding another dimension to the debate, Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) CEO, Sammy Gyamfi, has stated that the board recorded a surplus exceeding GH¢960 million in 2025. He argued that even if the BoG’s reported trading costs were accurate, they should be regarded as operational expenses rather than an economic loss, especially when weighed against the $8 billion in foreign exchange mobilised through GoldBod’s activities.
