The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Asiama, has disclosed that the Gold for Oil (G4O) programme has been suspended after recording significant financial losses over several years.

Dr. Asiama said both the Gold for Oil and Gold for Reserves (G4R) programmes are currently undergoing comprehensive external audits to assess their operations and determine the appropriate path forward.

He made the revelation while appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday, January 12, 2026.

“The Gold for Oil programme, since May last year, had to be shut down. An external audit is currently underway, and the entire programme is being examined. Once the audit is completed, we will be happy to share the findings with this Committee,” he stated.

He added that the Bank’s Board has also approved an external audit of the Gold for Reserves initiative, covering the period from its inception through the end of 2024, as well as its operations in 2025.

“With respect to the Gold for Reserves programme, an external audit has been authorized by the Board. It will cover operations from the beginning of the programme up to the end of 2024 and also how it was implemented during 2025. When these reports are ready, we will gladly engage this Committee on the findings,” Dr. Asiama said.

Despite the suspension and losses, the BoG Governor noted that both programmes were introduced to address critical national challenges and could still play a role in strengthening Ghana’s reserves if properly restructured.

“We believe that going forward, the key issue is reform. These programmes should be treated as quasi-fiscal interventions, with costs significantly reduced, so that they can better support reserve accumulation,” he explained.

Dr. Asiama also disclosed the financial performance of the programmes between 2022 and 2024. According to him, the Gold for Oil programme recorded a net loss of GH¢74.44 million in 2022, while there were no losses under the Gold for Reserves programme that year.

In 2023, net losses under Gold for Oil rose to GH¢317.69 million, while the Gold for Reserves programme recorded losses of GH¢1.54 billion. The situation worsened in 2024, with Gold for Oil posting losses of GH¢1.8 billion and Gold for Reserves recording losses of GH¢3.8 billion.

He indicated that loss figures for 2025 are still being reviewed and will be confirmed after the external audit. The Bank of Ghana, he said, expects to publish its audited financial statements by March 2026.