Africa Policy Lens demands full disclosure on Gold divestment

Policy think tank, Africa Policy Lens (APL) has intensified public scrutiny of the Bank of Ghana’s controversial divestment of nearly half of the country’s gold reserves in late 2025, following a well attended press conference in Accra yesterday.

Addressing journalists, Engineer Gomashie, a fellow at APL, said the organisation had “serious reservations” about both the timing and scale of the gold transactions, especially against the backdrop of soaring global gold prices and unprecedented central bank accumulation in recent years.

At the press conference, APL announced that it had formally submitted a Right to Information (RTI) request to the Central Bank seeking detailed disclosures on 16 key aspects of the gold divestment, including the quantities sold, the pricing benchmarks used, identities of buyers, transaction structure, and how proceeds were deployed.

“The public deserves clarity,” APL insisted.

Mr. Gomashie described the reserve sale as “a decision with far reaching monetary implications,” calling for transparency to restore public confidence.

He argued that, while Ghana was divesting close to 19.4 tonnes of gold within three months, many central banks around the world—including China, Poland, Turkey, Tanzania, Kenya, and Brazil—were aggressively increasing their gold reserves.

Citing data from the World Gold Council, APL highlighted that global gold demand in 2025 reached nearly 5,000 tonnes, with gold recording more than 50 all time highs that year.

“This was not a period when central banks were selling—this was when the world was buying,” Mr. Gomashie stated.

APL questioned why the Bank of Ghana would sell gold at an average market range of US$3,900–4,200/oz, only to announce plans to rebuild reserves at prices exceeding US$5,000/oz.

According to the think tank, such timing could cost the nation hundreds of millions of dollars in replacement value.

*Questions over reserve policy and governance*

At the press conference, APL also scrutinized the Bank of Ghana’s explanation that the divestment was a routine effort to “rebalance reserves” and reduce gold exposure to align with an alleged global benchmark of 20–25%.

The think tank challenged this benchmark, citing figures showing that many developed economies, including the United States, Germany, Italy, and the Eurozone, hold more than 60–80% of their reserves in gold.

“Which peers was the Bank comparing Ghana to?” Mr. Gomashie asked. “And did any of those peers sell nearly half of their holdings in one quarter?”

APL further raised concerns about the subsequent policy shift from the original Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) to the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP)—a move the organisation says raises questions about policy coherence.

*Call for parliamentary probe*

During the press conference, APL called for a bi partisan parliamentary inquiry into both:

• the US$214 million losses recorded under the Gold4Reserves programme, and

• the Q4 2025 divestment of 19.4 tonnes of gold.

The organisation wants Parliament to probe whether:
• the BoG Board approved the transactions,
• the Presidency and Cabinet were officially notified,
• the pricing mechanisms protected Ghana’s interest, and
• the sale complied with international reserve management best practices.

Awaiting BoG response
APL said it expects the Central Bank to respond within the statutory timeframe prescribed under the RTI Act.

“This matter concerns national assets,” Mr. Gomashie emphasised. “Ghanaians must know what was sold, to whom, why, and what the country gained—or lost.”

The Bank of Ghana has not yet publicly responded to either the press conference or the RTI request.