The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) says it is preparing to assume full control of the country’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold trading programme from January 2026, a move it believes will eliminate lingering controversies over fees and further strengthen Ghana’s economic outlook.
According to GoldBod Chief Executive Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, the Board’s operations in 2025 have largely been transitional, with GoldBod acting mainly as an agent for the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
“The GoldBod is barely eight months old. Its operations in 2025 have largely been one of an agent role for the BoG,” he said in a social media post.
Under the current arrangement, GoldBod is responsible for the local purchasing, assay and export of gold for the central bank, while the actual sale of gold remains the exclusive responsibility of the Bank of Ghana.
“The selling or trading of gold purchased by GoldBod to off-takers lies in the exclusive domain of the BoG,” Mr Gyamfi stated.
Mr Gyamfi explained that concerns about GoldBod’s fees and their alleged impact on the Bank of Ghana’s books would become irrelevant once the new structure takes effect.
“The GoldBod is set to fully takeover the ASM gold trading program effective January 2026,” he announced, adding that under the new arrangement, the Board will be “solely responsible for both the purchasing, trading and sale of gold under the program, with no fee obligation to the BoG.”
As a result, he said, “the issue of GoldBod’s fees and charges and their impact on BoG’s books will thus, be a thing of the past in the year 2026.”
Even under its current agency role, the GoldBod CEO maintained that the institution has played a critical role in supporting Ghana’s foreign exchange position.
“It remains an indisputable fact, that the GoldBod has generated over $10 billion dollars in foreign exchange for the country in 2025 alone from its local purchasing of over 100 tons of ASM gold for the BoG,” he said.
He also disclosed that GoldBod purchases “20% of the gold output of nine large scale companies for the BoG to shore up its gold reserves.”
Mr Gyamfi linked GoldBod’s operations to improvements in Ghana’s macroeconomic indicators, including foreign reserves and currency performance.
“This coupled with other factors, have led to a historic increase in the country’s foreign reserves from $9 billion in 2016 to a record high of about $12 billion dollars in 2025,” he said.
He further noted that the cedi has “appreciated against the U.S dollar from year to date by over 35%,” describing it as “the first time since 2007, that the cedi has appreciated against the U.S. dollar.”
