John Awuah, CEO of the Ghana Association of Banks, says the effective implementation of the new Ghana GoldBod has the potential to help stabilise the local currency.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition last Thursday, he revealed that Ghana loses billions of dollars annually due to unaccounted gold exports. He believes that plugging these leaks through a disciplined and transparent GoldBod regime could be a game-changer for the cedi.
“There are things happening now which, if we continue to forcefully implement as planned, will help us better manage the currency,” he said, citing a shocking example from recent years.
“We were in this country when Dubai reported importing $6 billion worth of gold from Ghana, but our records showed only $2 billion exported. So where is the $4 billion difference?”
Mr. Awuah explained that foreign nationals often buy gold directly from mining communities, bypassing official channels. Even with licensed small-scale miners, oversight remains weak.
“How this gold leaves the country remains unknown,” he said. “How can we report $2 billion in exports, while the importing country reports $6 billion in imports?”
He stressed that the missing $4 billion should have come in as export proceeds — money that could have helped strengthen the cedi.
“If we have a grip on this, as the GoldBod intends, and don’t let it become like some other state institutions where transparency is lacking, that’s potentially hundreds of millions of dollars that would otherwise leave the country,” he added.
Mr. Awuah also noted that some transactions happen offshore.
“People get cedis here, but the dollars never arrive. They then buy gold locally, export it, and only about 10 to 15% of the proceeds return to fund minor operations. The rest? We lose complete control.”
He warned that without strong systems, the GoldBod will fail to deliver results. “It’s a big if,” he said.
“If we run this transparently and professionally, aggregating gold purchases from small-scale miners, the country will buy in cedis and sell in foreign currency — bringing dollars back to Ghana.”
For Mr. Awuah, that is the real promise of the GoldBod — but only if it’s done right.