The Chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, Abena Osei-Asare, has called on President John Mahama to order a full investigation into the reported US$1.7 billion losses linked to the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) dealings with the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).

Speaking in a video posted via X and sighted by GhanaWeb Business on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, Osei-Asare said the figure disclosed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest Article IV consultation report is significantly higher than the loss reported by the Bank of Ghana in its 2025 financial statements.

She said while the BoG reported a loss of about US$214 million, the IMF put the losses from the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme at US$1.7 billion.

“How did they treat the difference of close to US$1.4 billion? How was it treated that it cannot be seen in the financial statement?” she questioned.

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Osei-Asare said the US$1.7 billion loss is equivalent to about GH¢22 billion, describing the amount as huge at a time when the government is struggling to meet funding demands in critical sectors.

She noted that the same amount was used during the banking sector clean-up to protect the funds of about 1.2 million depositors.

“We are talking about GH¢22 billion going down the drain, when just a fraction of it could have been used to support the Ministry of Health to recruit nurses,” she said.

The PAC Chairperson further argued that using GH¢6 billion from the reported loss to recruit nurses could have provided significant benefits to the economy.

According to her, such recruitment would reduce unemployment while allowing the newly employed nurses to contribute to government revenue through income taxes.

“If they had spent GH¢6 billion out of the GH¢22 billion, you would employ the nurses, unemployment rates would come down, and these same nurses would help generate more revenue,” she stated.

She therefore questioned the accounting treatment of the losses and called on the firm that audited the Bank of Ghana’s accounts to explain why the figures differ significantly from those cited by the IMF.

According to her, the discrepancy raises concerns about the credibility and transparency of the financial statements.

“I am calling out the accounting firm that audited the Bank of Ghana. They should come clean. We need an explanation of how they treated the difference of US$1.4 billion,” she said.

Osei-Asare also criticised the reported fees and discounts associated with the gold programme, saying the public deserves a clear explanation from GoldBod.

“If you can make a loss of GH¢22 billion, when GH¢6 billion of that loss can be used to employ more than 10,000 nurses, clearly we have a case to tell the people of Ghana,” she said.

She also raised concerns about the financial position of the Bank of Ghana, noting that its negative position had increased from about GH¢58 billion to GH¢93 billion.

She questioned why the government would provide only GH¢5 billion to the central bank while making a GH¢4.5 billion allocation to another entity just two working days before the end of the financial year.

“You give the Bank of Ghana, which you have helped to make a loss of close to GH¢40 billion, just GH¢5 billion,” she stated.

Osei-Asare further urged President Mahama to “walk the talk” by investigating GoldBod, improving transparency and ensuring that Parliament is properly informed about its operations and programmes.

She said GoldBod must regularly account to Parliament for its activities and financial performance.

“Their insults will not make the US$1.7 billion loss go away. We expect transparency, we expect accountability, and not contradictions in the numbers,” she said, adding that the government must take steps to protect the country’s limited resources.

Abena Osei-Asare raises questions over GoldBod, BoG FX forward deal



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