Former Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam claims the Bank of Ghana’s 2025 financial stability relied heavily on gold sales to mask deep operational losses.
Former Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam has ignited a fierce debate over the true state of the Bank of Ghana, asserting that the institution’s 2025 financial health is far more fragile than official reports suggest.
In a recent critique, the Karaga MP argued that the central bank’s reported net loss of GHS15.6 billion fails to capture the full extent of its fiscal strain.. He contends that massive proceeds from the sale of gold reserves were strategically used to soften the blow of heavy operational losses, creating an illusion of stability.
This discrepancy suggests that without the infusion of funds from selling 18 tonnes of gold—which generated a net gain of roughly GHS9.57 billion—the bank’s actual deficit could have surged past GHS25 billion.. Misryoum understands that these gains were moved from equity into the profit and loss account, a move that fundamentally altered the perception of the bank’s annual performance.
By artificially inflating income through reserve liquidations, the central bank risks obscuring its underlying solvency issues from the public and policymakers.. This practice hides the true cost of monetary interventions and delays necessary structural reforms that are needed to address long-term financial imbalances.
Dr.. Amin Adam further challenged the narrative provided by the central bank regarding why these gold assets were liquidated.. While officials have framed the sales as part of a reserve rebalancing act, the former minister pointed out that this contradicts the government’s stated long-term goal of actively accumulating gold reserves.
Instead, he suggested the sales were a reactive measure to cover the soaring costs of monetary policy operations, specifically the GHS16.73 billion spent on sterilization.. He pointed to the bank’s own financial documentation, which admits that its policy solvency in 2025 was heavily underpinned by these bullion sales.
In this context, the debate also touches on the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme. Once heavily criticized, the program is now being touted by its supporters as an essential safety net that provided the very liquidity the central bank needed to manage its recent operational challenges.
Ultimately, the former Finance Minister warns that reliance on one-off asset sales is a dangerous fiscal strategy. He believes that using these reserves to plug operational holes provides only temporary relief rather than a permanent solution to the bank’s structural weaknesses.
This situation underscores a broader concern regarding transparency in state-run financial institutions, as accounting maneuvers can easily camouflage deeper systemic risks that may require more urgent, albeit painful, corrective measures.