IMF Gold Loss Report Sparks Fresh Accountability Storm as Bright Simons Takes on GoldBod
Policy analyst and IMANI Africa Vice President, Bright Simons, has renewed pressure on Ghana’s gold trading authorities, insisting that losses cited by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Ghana’s gold programme are real, documented, and traceable to official transactions.
In a strongly worded post responding to comments by GoldBod Chief Executive Sammy Gyamfi, Simons dismissed suggestions that the IMF’s findings were speculative, arguing that the Fund’s conclusions were based on direct access to government and Bank of Ghana records.
According to Simons, the IMF report explicitly identifies losses arising from transactions involving the purchase of dore gold from small-scale and artisanal miners. He noted that under Ghana’s current legal framework, GoldBod is the sole entity mandated to buy such gold, operating on behalf of the Bank of Ghana.
“The only way losses can arise is on the buying and selling sides of the transaction,” he argued, stressing that the responsibility for explaining the losses rests with the institutions managing the trades.
Simons said the IMF’s position validates concerns he and others have raised for months, particularly over the refusal by GoldBod to publish detailed trading data. He questioned why the IMF should be trusted when it reports economic recovery, but doubted when it flags losses backed by government-supplied data.
He also challenged claims that the absence of audited financial statements invalidates the IMF’s conclusions, explaining that losses originate from management accounts, not audit reports. Auditors, he stressed, merely verify accounts prepared by management, rather than create them.
“The simple question,” Simons wrote, “is what the Bank of Ghana’s own management accounts say, and whether those numbers show losses.”
Beyond the technical debate, Simons framed the issue as one of governance and public trust, warning that a long-standing culture of withholding information from stakeholders undermines confidence in public institutions. He maintained that transparency and scrutiny are essential, not antagonistic, to the success of the gold programme.
While insisting that critics are not rooting for failure, Simons called for open disclosure of the data submitted to the IMF, arguing that early transparency would have avoided months of public dispute.
The exchange adds fresh momentum to calls for greater accountability in Ghana’s gold purchasing and export framework, especially as the country relies on gold inflows to stabilise reserves and support broader economic recovery.
