The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has rejected the attribution of a reported GH¢1.7 billion loss to the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), saying a significant portion of the amount represents revenue earned by the state-owned institution.
The IEA said the figure had been misconstrued as a loss because it included service and assaying fees paid by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to GoldBod for services rendered in the purchase and export of gold.
Professor Alexander Bilson Darku, Director of Research at the IEA, said such payments constituted revenue to GoldBod and should not be classified as losses simply because they were recorded as costs on the books of the central bank.
“I don’t understand why somebody would call revenue as a loss,” Prof. Darku said on Wednesday at the IEA’s assessment of the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review in Accra.
He said the distinction was important in assessing the financial performance of GoldBod and understanding the fiscal implications of the Government’s gold purchasing and export arrangements.
The IEA’s clarification formed part of a broader assessment of the economy, during which the Institute urged the Government to move beyond macroeconomic stabilisation and focus on structural transformation, job creation, productivity and sustainable growth.
Move From Stabilisation to Transformation
Prof. Darku said Ghana had made significant progress in restoring macroeconomic stability, but the gains must now translate into improved livelihoods, productive investment and decent jobs.
“Ghana’s stabilisation is done. Now is the time to turn macro stability into real economic transformation, jobs and resilience,” he said.
He cited real GDP growth of 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2026, exceeding the full-year target of 4.8 percent.
Inflation, he said, had fallen from 23.8 percent in December 2024 to 5.4 percent in December 2025, before edging up marginally to 5.7 percent by June 2026.
On the fiscal front, he said the country recorded a primary balance surplus of 0.9 percent of GDP by June, against the 1.95 percent target for the year.
Gross international reserves had also risen to about five months of import cover, while the debt-to-GDP ratio had declined from 61.8 percent in 2024 to 44.7 percent in 2025 and 45 percent by June 2026.
Quality of Growth
Despite the positive indicators, Prof. Darku expressed concern about the structure of economic growth, particularly the relatively weak performance of agriculture.
He said services grew by 7.1 percent, while agriculture, which remained a major source of employment, expanded by only four percent.
He called for targeted interventions to transform agriculture from predominantly subsistence production into an industrial and commercially oriented sector.
Those interventions, he said, should include increased public investment in agro-processing, extension services, climate adaptation measures and improved seed systems.
Prof. Darku also urged the Government to pursue employment-led growth, stressing that economic expansion must be reflected in decent jobs and higher household incomes.
High Lending Rates Remain Concern
On monetary policy, the IEA Director of Research welcomed the reduction in the policy rate but expressed concern that commercial bank lending rates remained high.
He urged the Government to introduce measures to strengthen the transmission of monetary policy, allowing reductions in the policy rate to translate into more affordable credit for businesses and productive sectors.
He also called for broader measures to support exchange-rate stability rather than excessive reliance on gold exports.
These, he said, should include export diversification, import substitution, stronger foreign exchange regulation and increased Ghanaian ownership of productive assets.
Prof. Darku further recommended reforms to the natural resource regime to increase the State’s share of resource revenues while promoting local processing and value addition.
Strengthen Fiscal Governance
On fiscal governance, he called for the Fiscal Council to be provided with adequate technical capacity, operational independence and access to relevant fiscal data.
He also recommended regular publication of the Council’s reports for Parliament, civil society organisations and the wider public.
Prof. Darku said the Government had demonstrated that Ghana could restore macroeconomic stability, but the next challenge was to preserve those gains while transforming the structure of the economy.
“The question is no longer whether Ghana can stabilise its economy. We have. The question is whether we have the courage to consolidate those gains into lasting economic transformation,” he said.
Madam Sophia Akuffo, a Distinguished Fellow at the IEA, who chaired the assessment, said the indicators presented showed important progress in inflation, fiscal performance, interest rates, reserves and public debt.
She, however, stressed that stabilisation should be viewed as the beginning rather than the end of the economic reform process.
“The critical fiscal question then is how we translate every gain made with this stabilisation into sustainable economic growth, decent jobs with decent remuneration, productive investment and overall improved livelihoods for all Ghanaians,” Madam Akuffo said.
The former Chief Justice expressed the hope that the IEA’s assessment would stimulate constructive questions, policy suggestions and public discourse on Ghana’s economic development.
