Heed World Bank, IMF advice to curb future gold trade losses — Jerry Shaib urges government

Weija/Gbawe MP and Second Minority Whip, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, has urged the government to urgently heed warnings from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over Ghana’s gold trading operations to prevent further financial losses.

Mr Shaib says the findings of the two international financial institutions should trigger immediate action to strengthen monitoring, transparency and accountability under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP).

‘Over $1.7bn loss in one year’

The MP cited an August 2026 IMF report which, according to him, found that the gold programme recorded losses of more than $1.7 billion in 2025, equivalent to about 1.5 per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He warned that such losses could have serious consequences for the country’s finances if the underlying problems are not addressed.

According to Mr Shaib, the losses contributed to the Bank of Ghana being pushed into what he described as deep negative equity.

Shaib questions government’s handling of GoldBod

The Weija/Gbawe MP also pointed to a World Bank assessment which he said described GoldBod-related operations as a “significant and insufficiently monitored risk” to Ghana’s economy.

He argued that the warnings demonstrate the need for much tighter supervision of the country’s gold trading arrangements.

Mr Shaib further accused the government of failing to properly manage what he considers a potentially beneficial policy, describing the situation as incompetence or negligence at the highest level.

‘This is not about Bawumia’s original vision’

The MP stressed that his criticism was not directed at the original concept of using gold to strengthen Ghana’s reserves.

Rather, he said the concern was about how the programme had subsequently been managed.

“A sound idea, poorly supervised, is how you lose over a billion dollars in one year and still have no answers for Ghanaians,” he said.

Calls for full parliamentary probe

Mr Shaib welcomed the Speaker of Parliament’s decision to admit a motion on the matter, saying a parliamentary inquiry would help uncover the truth behind the reported losses.

He is demanding full disclosure from GoldBod on the operations of the programme, including the discounts applied to Ghana’s gold, the officials who approved them, fees charged and the entities that ultimately bore the losses.

He also wants Parliament to have the power to summon officials and demand documents relating to the transactions.

Minority demands transparency

Mr Shaib further called for disclosure of the identities of gold off-takers, discounts granted and fees charged, as well as clarification on whether GoldBod or the Bank of Ghana ultimately absorbed specific losses.

He also wants all contingent liabilities associated with the programme to be publicly disclosed and Ghana’s gold reserves accounted for transparently under standard reserve-reporting arrangements.

With concerns over the reported $1.7 billion loss already intensifying, the Weija/Gbawe MP says the government’s next move must be to implement the reforms recommended by the international financial institutions and ensure that Ghana does not suffer similar losses in future.

The issue is expected to remain a major subject of parliamentary scrutiny as calls grow for greater accountability in the country’s gold trade.