Ghana Accelerates Gold Reserve Accumulation Amid Calls for Reform

The Ghanaian economy faced severe challenges in 2021 due to a US dollar shortage, rapid currency depreciation, and high inflation rates. To address this, then-Vice President Dr. Alhaji Muhammadu Bawumia introduced the Domestic Gold Purchase Program (DGPP), which aimed to buy gold from small-scale miners at the global spot price.

The program was successful in increasing Ghana's gold reserve from 8.78 tonnes to a peak of 30.5 tonnes by December 2024, under President Nana Addo's regime. However, when President John Dramani Mahama took over, he continued with the DGPP and established GoldBod in early 2025 to take over from Precious Minerals Marketing (PMMC) in buying gold from small-scale miners.

The GoldBod program was successful in generating significant foreign exchange reserves, stabilizing the cedi, reducing inflation, and decreasing national debt. However, the IMF review of the economy revealed that the scaling up of the DGPP generated 1.7 billion US dollars in accounting/quasi-fiscal losses, which was 1.5% of GDP.

The IMF recommended reducing operational costs to 5%, increasing transparency, and strengthening safeguards around the program. The government has proposed shifting the responsibility for the DGPP from Bank of Ghana to GoldBod under the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Program (GANARP), effective March 2026.