The Minority caucus in Parliament has sharply criticised the Bank of Ghana following the release of its 2025 audited financial statements, accusing the central bank of concealing its true financial position and warning that it is facing what they describe as “policy insolvency.”
Addressing a press conference in Parliament, led by Ranking Member on the Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Minority said its review of the Bank’s 136-page report confirms concerns it had long raised about the institution’s direction.
“We have come here not to gloat about the things we forewarned,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah said, “but to share with the Ghanaian people the numbers that the government wanted to hide and the worrying implications those numbers reveal.”
The caucus also took issue with an earlier briefing by the Majority, which sought to explain anticipated losses before the official accounts were released. The Minority described that move as improper and politically motivated, arguing that it undermines established procedures.
“What happened was not only irregular but a blatant attempt to politicise the Bank of Ghana and shape public opinion before the facts were known,” they said.
At the heart of their concerns is the claim that the central bank can no longer sustain its core monetary operations from its own income. The Minority argued that while the Bank reported operational income of GH¢22.2 billion against open market operation costs of GH¢16.7 billion, the figures are misleading because they include a one-off gain of GH¢9.6 billion from gold sales.
Removing that income, they say, leaves operational earnings at GH¢12.7 billion, creating a deficit of about GH¢4 billion.
“A central bank that needs to sell gold to avoid insolvency is operating on borrowed time,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah warned.
The caucus further disputed the widely reported GH¢15.6 billion loss, insisting the actual figure is much higher when all components are considered.
They pointed to an additional GH¢19.3 billion recorded under Other Comprehensive Income, pushing total losses to about GH¢34.9 billion, and argued that when adjusted for the gold sale proceeds, the underlying loss could reach GH¢44 billion.
“This is the figure they did not want Ghanaians to see,” the Minority said, accusing authorities of relying on accounting adjustments and asset sales to soften the headline loss.
They also raised concerns about the accounting standards used in preparing the financial statements, noting that the accounts were not fully aligned with International Financial Reporting Standards but rather based on the Bank’s internal policies.
According to them, this approach allowed significant losses, particularly those linked to foreign exchange revaluation, to be shifted into Other Comprehensive Income, thereby reducing the reported deficit.
The Minority said the latest figures mark a reversal of a recovery trend recorded in previous years, citing official data that showed losses declining from GH¢13.23 billion in 2023 to GH¢9.49 billion in 2024, before rising again to GH¢15.63 billion in 2025.
“The central bank was healing. Now it is deteriorating,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah stated.
They attributed the situation to policy decisions, including changes to the cash reserve ratio framework, foreign currency reserve requirements, and the gold purchase programme—moves they say have increased sterilisation costs and pushed interest payments to commercial banks above GH¢14 billion.
In what they described as a troubling development, the Minority argued that the Bank’s operations have effectively resulted in a transfer of public resources to private banks.
“This is not monetary policy; this is a wealth transfer from the public balance sheet to private balance sheets,” they said.
They added that the situation is having real consequences for the broader economy, including tight liquidity, weak private sector credit growth, rising living costs, youth unemployment, and mounting pressure on key sectors.
“Stability of numbers is not the same as stability of livelihoods,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah stressed.
The caucus also pointed to what it sees as a contradiction in earlier positions taken by the opposition, recalling past criticisms of the central bank over smaller losses.
“By their own standards, what should be said today?” they questioned.
Despite the strong criticism, the Minority said its goal is to push for urgent reforms rather than assign blame, adding that it will present policy alternatives aimed at restoring the Bank’s financial health and safeguarding its independence.
“There is no triumph in being right when your country is bleeding,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah said. “What matters now is that we act to prevent further damage.”
The debate is expected to intensify in the coming days as questions mount over the true state of the central bank and the long-term sustainability of current economic policies.
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