{"id":109697,"date":"2026-01-03T10:43:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T10:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=109697"},"modified":"2026-01-03T10:43:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T10:43:46","slug":"imf-has-right-to-call-it-trading-losses-bright-simons-responds-to-goldbod-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=109697","title":{"rendered":"IMF has right to call it trading losses \u2013 Bright Simons responds to GoldBod claims"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>1 Minute, 57 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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Bright Simons, Honorary Vice President of IMANI Africa, has pushed back against attempts to downplay the International Monetary Fund\u2019s (IMF) assessment of Ghana\u2019s reported US$214 million losses linked to gold trading, insisting that the Fund has both the mandate and the right to describe the issue as \u201ctrading losses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking on JoyNews\u2019 Newsfile<\/em> on Saturday, January 3, Simons explained that the IMF\u2019s conclusions stem from its surveillance role under Article IV consultations, which apply to all member countries, not only those on active IMF programmes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe IMF insists that we should call it trading losses. We did not use that term arbitrarily,\u201d Simons said, stressing that IMF reviews are grounded in treaty obligations Ghana voluntarily signed up to as a member of the Bretton Woods institution.<\/p>\n

His comments come amid public debate over reports that GoldBod, the state-linked gold trading entity, incurred losses amounting to US$214 million \u2014 claims that have been strongly denied by the government.<\/p>\n

Simons clarified that IMF surveillance is not optional, even for wealthy or non-borrowing countries. \u201cThe IMF is a treaty organisation. We are members. As long as you are part of that treaty, the IMF surveillance function applies,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

According to him, the Fund has the right to assess how countries manage their economies and to publish its findings, provided the engagement with authorities is reasonable.<\/p>\n

He rejected suggestions that the issue could be reduced to a mere administrative or accounting problem. \u201cYou cannot all of a sudden convert a trading loss into something that\u2019s a purely administrative matter. A trading loss means it\u2019s a commercial loss,\u201d Simons argued, adding that the IMF\u2019s conclusions were based on careful examination of data and extensive engagement with Ghanaian authorities.<\/p>\n

However, government officials have dismissed claims of losses at GoldBod. <\/p>\n

Appearing on Newsfile<\/em> the same day, Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi described reports of a US$214 million loss as \u201cfalse and misleading.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEmphatically, no. GoldBod, even though it is not a profit-making public institution, has not made any losses,\u201d Sammy Gyamfi stated.<\/p>\n

He disclosed that GoldBod generated more than GH\u20b5960 million in revenue in 2025, while its total expenditure stood at less than GH\u20b5120 million, based on unaudited management accounts. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom all indications, we are on course to declaring an income surplus,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"IMFBright Simons, Honorary Vice President of IMANI Africa, has pushed back against attempts to downplay the International Monetary Fund\u2019s (IMF) assessment of Ghana\u2019s reported US$214 million losses linked to gold trading, insisting that the Fund has both the mandate and the right to describe the issue as \u201ctrading losses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking on JoyNews\u2019 Newsfile on Saturday, January 3, Simons explained that the IMF\u2019s conclusions stem from its surveillance role under Article IV consultations, which apply to all member countries, not only those on active IMF programmes.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2840,1789,1883,117,10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bright-simons","category-goldbod","category-national","category-news","category-politics","category-popular"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=109697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109697\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=109697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=109697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=109697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}