The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has confirmed that the Governor, Dr Johnson Asiama haa ceased to be a member of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).
According to the BoG, Dr Asiama exited the board on May 11, 2026, and has been replaced by the Second Deputy Governor, Mrs Matilda Asante-Asiedu, as the Bank of Ghana's representative on the board.
The central bank said Dr Asiama has not participated in GoldBod meetings or activities since May 11, 2026.
The clarification follows remarks by Dr Asiama at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) briefing on September 24, 2026, when he said he had resigned from the GoldBod about five months earlier and no longer attended its meetings.
The Governing Body of the Ghana Gold Board is the Board of Directors, consisting of:
- Chairperson nominated by the President
- Chief Executive Officer
- Minister responsible for mines or a representative of the minister responsible for mines not below the rank of a director nominated by the minister responsible for mines
- Minister responsible for finance or a representative of the minister responsible for finance not below the rank of a director nominated by the minister responsible for finance
- Governor of the Bank of Ghana or a representative of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana not below the rank of a director nominated by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana
- One representative of the Minerals Commission not below the rank of Director nominated by the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission
- One representative each of the following:
- Large-scale mining firms nominated by the Ghana Chamber of Mines
- Small-scale miners nominated by the association representing the interest of small-scale miners
- Gold service providers nominated by the President, at least one of whom is a woman
In a press release dated September 28, 2026, the BoG said Section 4 of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), provided for the Bank to be represented on the GoldBod Board by the Governor or an official not below the rank of Director.
It said Mrs Asante-Asiedu had been nominated as its representative and had since assumed the role.
At the MPC briefing, Dr Asiama was asked about concerns over his membership of the GoldBod Board and the relationship between the central bank and the gold-buying institution.
He said he had resigned from the board about five months earlier.
“I resigned from the GoldBod Board about five months ago or so. I do not attend board meetings at the GoldBod at all,” Dr Asiama said.
He explained that Act 1140 did not require the Governor personally to serve on the board and that the Bank of Ghana could be represented by another official of the required rank.
The issue followed concerns raised by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over Dr Asiama’s membership of the GoldBod Board.
At an NPP press briefing on September 1, 2026, former Finance Minister and Karaga Member of Parliament, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, called for Dr Asiama’s removal from the board.
Dr Amin Adam questioned the appropriateness of the BoG Governor serving on the GoldBod Board while the central bank was involved in financing GoldBod’s gold purchases.
GoldBod’s Media Relations Officer, Prince Kwame Minkah, said on Monday that Dr Asiama’s departure from the board did not indicate a disagreement between GoldBod and the Bank of Ghana.
Mr Minkah said Dr Asiama had nominated Mrs Asante-Asiedu to represent him because of his busy schedule.
He said Section 4(e) of Act 1140 allowed such representation and that the nomination was communicated to the GoldBod Board on May 11, 2026.
While Dr Asiama described his departure as a resignation, GoldBod described it as a delegation of his seat to another representative. The BoG, in its September 28 release, said Dr Asiama ceased to be a member of the board from May 11.
The issue is linked to the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP), under which the Bank of Ghana bought gold from local producers to build the country’s reserves.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported in August that the programme recorded losses of GH¢22 billion in 2025, equivalent to about 1.5 per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The IMF also called for an end to the BoG’s quasi-fiscal activities and the transfer of the DGPP fully to GoldBod.
In July 2026, the government, the Bank of Ghana and GoldBod signed an agreement to transfer the operations of the DGPP from the central bank to GoldBod.
The BoG also ended its pre-financing of GoldBod’s gold purchases from July 1, 2026.
GoldBod Chief Executive, Mr Sammy Gyamfi, has rejected claims that the reported loss should be attributed to GoldBod.
He has argued that the IMF report referred to losses incurred by the Bank of Ghana under the DGPP.
