The controversy over Ghana’s reported US$214 million gold-related losses has deepened, with IMANI Africa’s Honorary Vice President, Bright Simons, firmly defending the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) characterization of the issue as “trading losses.”
Rather than treating the IMF’s assessment as an overreach, Simons argues that the Fund was merely exercising powers Ghana itself accepted when it became a member of the Bretton Woods institution.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, January 3, Simons explained that the IMF’s conclusion did not arise from political bias or speculation, but from its Article IV surveillance responsibilities, which apply to all IMF member countries — whether or not they are currently under an IMF programme.
“The IMF insists on calling it trading losses, and that language was not chosen casually,” Simons said, noting that such assessments are grounded in treaty obligations Ghana voluntarily signed.
He stressed that IMF surveillance is mandatory, not optional, and applies equally to wealthy nations and developing economies.
“As long as you are part of the treaty, the IMF has the right to review your economic management and publish its findings,” he explained.
Simons rejected attempts to dilute the substance of the IMF’s conclusions by reframing the matter as an administrative or bookkeeping issue.
“You cannot suddenly convert a trading loss into something purely administrative,” he argued. “A trading loss is commercial by definition.”
According to him, the IMF’s position was formed after detailed data analysis and extended engagement with Ghanaian authorities, making it difficult to dismiss the finding as superficial or misleading.
The debate has intensified amid government pushback against reports linking the losses to GoldBod, the state-linked gold trading entity.
Government officials, including GoldBod’s Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi, have categorically denied that the institution recorded any losses.
Appearing on Newsfile the same day, Gyamfi described claims of a US$214 million loss as “false and misleading,” insisting that GoldBod remains financially sound.
“Emphatically, no,” he stated. “GoldBod, even though it is not a profit-making public institution, has not made any losses.”
He disclosed that unaudited management accounts show GoldBod generated over GH₵960 million in revenue in 2025, while spending less than GH₵120 million during the same period.
“From all indications, we are on course to declaring an income surplus,” Gyamfi added.
