BoG orders external audit after GH¢2.2bn Gold-for-Oil losses

The Bank of Ghana has ordered an external audit into the implementation of the Gold for Oil programme following cumulative losses estimated at about GH¢2.2 billion between 2022 and 2024.

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Asiama, disclosed this when he appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee during deliberations on the Auditor-General’s report on foreign exchange receipts and payments at the central bank.

He explained that the decision was taken after the programme recorded growing losses over three consecutive years. In 2022, the Gold for Oil initiative posted a net loss of about GH¢74 million, which increased to GH¢317.69 million in 2023. The losses widened sharply in 2024 to approximately GH¢1.8 billion, bringing the total to about GH¢2.2 billion.

Dr Asiama said approval had been secured from the Public Procurement Authority to engage external auditors and that the audit exercise is currently underway. He noted that the figures remain provisional and subject to the outcome of the audit, adding that it would be premature to comment on the programme’s performance for 2025.

Beyond the Gold for Oil scheme, the Governor revealed that the Gold for Reserves programme also recorded significant financial setbacks. While it did not post any net loss in 2022, it recorded losses of slightly over GH¢1 billion in 2023 and about GH¢3.8 billion in 2024.

Despite the losses, Dr Asiama said the Gold for Reserves programme would not be scrapped but would instead be restructured to improve efficiency and strengthen the country’s reserve position.

He further acknowledged previous risk-management lapses in gold export arrangements, particularly involving small-scale mining operations, where some consignments were shipped without insurance cover after arrival at their destinations. To address this, the Bank has introduced stricter safeguards, including requiring full payment or insurance guarantees before consignments are released.

Dr Asiama stressed that the new measures are aimed at strengthening accountability and protecting Ghana’s economic interests, adding that addressing the challenges facing the programmes would require a coordinated national effort.