Former Finance Minister questions Bank of Ghana’s controversial sale of 50% of Ghana's gold reserves
19th March 2026
Former Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has expressed concern over the government's sale of half of of Ghana's total gold reserves last year to deplete the nation's gold buffer.
In an extensive write up on his Facebook page which he shared last night, Dr. Adam questioned the rationale behind the Mahama government selling half of the National gold reserves built by the previous government, thus defeating the purpose for the accumulation of the gold reserves.
The forme Finance Minister gave a background of the erstwhile NPP government built Ghana's gold reserves from a meagre 8 tonnes to over 30 tonnes through the Gold for Reserves Policy, which was championed by former Vice President Dr. Bawumia.
Questioning the government's sale, Dr. Adams the sale "raises serious concerns about policy consistency and balance sheet management."
"Against this backdrop, the liquidation of more than half (+50%) of these reserves—generating approximately US$1.5 billion in financial gains—raises serious concerns about policy consistency and balance sheet management," Dr. Adam wrote.
"The central question is not whether reserves can be reallocated, but why such a substantial share was sold, and how the proceeds were used."
"If these transactions were primarily undertaken to offset financial losses, then this represents a fundamental shift from reserve accumulation toward balance sheet repair. In that case, headline financial outcomes risk overstating underlying performance, unless one-off gains from gold sales are clearly separated from core operational results."
Dr. Adam added that the Central Bank ''must prove that it did not sell the gold to cover huge losses recorded in 2025."
"How will the Bank report its 2025 losses vis-avis the gains from the sale of gold reserves? How sustainable is this practice where operational losses can easily be offset by the sale of our gold reserves?"
"The Bank of Ghana is yet to tell Ghanaians that the real reason behind the sale was not to achieve the right proportions of assets between foreign currency and gold, but simply to cover losses occasioned by its poor management of the Bank."