Ghana has set aside roughly $429 million in its revised 2026 budget to fund gold purchases through the Ghana Gold Board, after shifting responsibility for financing away from the central bank. The shift raises concerns about fiscal exposure, since the gold-buying program posted trading losses last year that widened the Bank of Ghana’s deficit. Ghana created the gold board in 2025 to centralize purchases from small-scale miners and curb smuggling, a move that helped double gold exports to $21 billion in 2025. The program also boosted dollar supply and helped tame inflation, but the IMF has warned the arrangement risks undermining the central bank’s independence. To offset the new cost, Ghana is cutting capital spending and reducing the program’s operational costs.
Bloomberg