The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has rejected suggestions that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has transferred its foreign exchange market responsibilities to the Board, insisting that its role is limited to selling foreign currency earned from its gold operations and supporting supply to the domestic market.
The clarification follows reports after Tuesday’s sitting of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which suggested that GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi’s explanation of the Board’s foreign exchange arrangements implied a transfer of the central bank’s mandate.
GoldBod said Mr Gyamfi was describing its Spot Foreign Exchange (FX) Sales framework, under which it sells US dollars to commercial banks in exchange for cedis, rather than taking over the Bank of Ghana’s broader regulatory functions.
According to GoldBod, the arrangement is consistent with Section 2(b) of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), which provides for the Board to supply foreign exchange to the country. The cedi proceeds from the sales are used to finance gold purchases through licensed aggregators.
The Board also said it sought guidance from the Bank of Ghana before implementing the framework and received authorisation to proceed.
The clarification is consistent with comments by Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr Johnson Asiama, who has dismissed suggestions that the central bank has relinquished its foreign exchange responsibilities.
He said the Bank remains ready to intervene when necessary to preserve market stability, while GoldBod supports foreign exchange intermediation and supply.
“We want to focus on reserve build-up while GoldBod supports with FX intermediation as well as some level of intervention for the market,” he said, adding that the Bank would enter the market if volatility threatened orderly trading conditions.
GoldBod stressed that authorisation to sell foreign exchange does not amount to a transfer of the central bank’s mandate.