Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Delivers Significant Macroeconomic Gains
Ghana’s Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has delivered significant macroeconomic gains, generating an estimated US$3.8 billion in additional foreign exchange in 2025 by sharply reducing gold smuggling and formalizing artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) exports. According to a technical report by economists from the University of Ghana and the University of Ghana Business School, recorded ASM gold exports rose dramatically from 63.6 metric tonnes in 2024 to 103.0 tonnes in 2025, representing an incremental increase of 39.4 tonnes.
This achievement has contributed to several macroeconomic improvements, including higher international reserves estimated at US$11-12 billion, exchange-rate stabilization and appreciation beyond IMF budget assumptions, and a reduction in the domestic cost of servicing external debt estimated at GHS 6.2 billion. Additionally, the import bill valuation between January and October 2025 was lower, estimated at GHS 50.6 billion, and disinflation was driven by reduced exchange-rate pass-through.
The benefits of GoldBod’s activities far outweigh the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) reported trading loss of US$214 million, with a benefit-cost ratio of approximately 18:1. In fact, formalizing just 2.2 tons of gold would have offset the reported loss. The report emphasizes that GoldBod should be regarded as a tool for macroeconomic stabilization and formalization, rather than a profit-driven trading entity.
The authors, Prof. Festus Ebo Turkson, Peter Junior Dotse, and Prof. Agyapomaa Gyeke-Dako, recommend sustaining price competitiveness to prevent a return of smuggling, improving transparency in official reporting, strengthening governance and oversight, and treating GoldBod’s policy costs as a quasi-fiscal expense funded through the national budget.
