The Dean of the Faculty of Accounting and Finance at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), ProfessorIsaac Boadi, has called on the government and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to clarify whether they have accepted the reported $1.7 billion loss associated with the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP).

Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday (19 August), Prof. Boadi said the reported loss represented a significant cost to the country and should be fully explained to the public.

He said the figure meant that Ghana was effectively losing about 17 cents on every dollar of gold sold through the arrangement, describing the loss as equivalent to about 1.5 percent of the country’s GDP.

Prof Boadi said the transactions between the BoG and GoldBod had resulted in a situation where the central bank incurred costs while GoldBod recorded revenues from fees and related charges.

According to him, the distinction between the two institutions’ financial positions raises questions about how the overall performance of the programme should be assessed.

“Should we assess GoldBod’s performance in isolation? Or should the entire DGPP be consolidated when we are determining whether the state actually made or lost money?” he asked.

He noted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report had indicated that the losses incurred by the BoG were to be transferred to GoldBod.

Prof Boadi said the government and the two institutions should disclose when that transfer would take place and what impact it would have on GoldBod’s financial position.

He also called for full disclosure of the transactions underlying the programme, including the quantities of gold purchased, purchase prices, sources of the gold, financing arrangements, buyers, selling prices and timing of sales.

“We should be able to trace where we purchased this gold from. How much?” he said, arguing that the information was necessary to establish how the losses occurred.

Prof. Boadi further urged the authorities to publish the relevant reports to enable Parliament, investors and the public to establish the true costs and benefits of the programme.

He said inconsistencies between financial reports could undermine public confidence because different institutions and stakeholders could end up with different pictures of the programme’s performance.

He therefore called for the BoG or government to issue a clear statement on the reported $1.7 billion loss, while GoldBod should disclose its financial position after accounting for government support.

He said the BoG should also state when the reported losses would be transferred to GoldBod.