The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) is facing fresh pressure over transparency after the policy think tank, the Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP), alleged that its quarterly trading reports have been removed from its website.
In a statement issued on Monday, August 25, 2026, the IERPP demanded urgent answers from GoldBod, citing Section 42 of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), which requires the Board to publish quarterly reports on its operations, revenue, contracts, expenditure and responsible sourcing.
The IERPP said the reported removal of the reports from the website raises concerns about compliance with the law establishing GoldBod.
“Section 42(2) requires GoldBod to ensure access to those reports. The law does not merely require GoldBod to upload reports; it requires meaningful public access to them,” the IERPP said in the statement signed by its Executive Director, Prof. Isaac Boadi.
The institute stressed that it was not alleging wrongdoing, but said the reported disappearance of the reports raised “legitimate questions”, given GoldBod’s role in managing Ghana’s strategic gold reserves and its significant public financial interests.
The IERPP is demanding that GoldBod explain who authorised the removal of the reports, when it occurred and why.
It also wants the Board to publish both the original and revised versions of any reports in which figures have been corrected or replaced, together with explanations of all material changes.
“The timing of the trading report publication is particularly important because it sits at the centre of a growing question: what is the actual financial relationship between GoldBod, the Bank of Ghana, and the wider gold-purchasing programme?” the statement said.
IERPP’s six demands
The IERPP has made six demands of GoldBod, including:
- Restore all previously published quarterly reports and establish a permanent public archive.
- Explain any deletion, withdrawal, amendment or replacement of reports.
- Publish original and revised versions where figures have changed, together with reasons for the changes.
- Provide the publication and removal dates for each report.
- Ensure full disclosure under Section 42, including information on revenue, contracts, expenditure, operations and traceability, remains publicly accessible.
- Disclose off-taker fees, trading margins, discounts, assay charges and other transaction costs for independent scrutiny.
The IERPP argued that GoldBod could not demand compliance and reporting from licensed gold buyers while making its own legally mandated reports difficult to access.
“Where public resources and national gold are involved, citizens must be able to understand the transactions, prices, contracts, fees, discounts, trading margins and ultimately who bore the risks and costs,” the statement said.
The think tank also warned against allowing GoldBod to “become a black box”, noting that gold is one of Ghana’s important sources of foreign exchange and that the Board’s activities have implications for exports, reserves, the Bank of Ghana and public finances.
“Public gold requires public scrutiny. Public money requires public accountability,” the IERPP said.
It added that Section 42 was enacted specifically “for the purpose of transparency and accountability” and argued that the obligation should not be treated as a temporary website exercise.
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