Bank of Ghana to review Domestic Gold Purchase Programme

The Bank of Ghana is set to hold a policy workshop with experts, market practitioners and policymakers to review and adjust the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, the Governor, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, has said.

Dr Asiama said the central bank, working with the Ghana Gold Board and the Ministry of Finance, intends to assess ways to improve and sustain the programme as the country moves beyond the stabilisation phase of its economic recovery.

He said the workshop would provide an opportunity for stakeholders to examine how the programme can be refined in line with best practices in other jurisdictions.

“In that spirit, the Bank of Ghana, working with the Gold Board and the Ministry of Finance, intends to convene a focused policy workshop with experts, market practitioners and policymakers to examine how this national priority can be refined further in line with best practices elsewhere,” Dr Asiama said.

He explained that the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme was introduced at a time when Ghana’s foreign exchange buffers were low and confidence in the economy was weak. Its objective, he said, was to strengthen reserves, stabilise the cedi and create space for macroeconomic recovery.

According to Dr Asiama, the programme contributed to the return of stability but came at a financial cost to the central bank, which absorbed the burden in the national interest.

He noted that several changes were introduced in 2025 to recalibrate the programme, including the cancellation of the Gold-for-Oil arrangement and revisions to the Gold-for-Reserves framework.

Dr Asiama said governance, transparency and risk controls were strengthened, particularly within the artisanal and small-scale gold trading sector. Settlement risks, he explained, were reduced through payment-before-release arrangements and the ring-fencing of off-take proceeds.

He added that pricing structures were revised through reductions in discounts, agent fees and assay charges. A gold foreign exchange auction mechanism was also introduced to provide a more orderly and transparent channel for gold-related foreign exchange flows.

Looking ahead to 2026, Dr Asiama said the Gold-for-Reserves programme should be more firmly embedded within the broader government of Ghana policy framework, with shared responsibility to ensure its sustainability does not rest on a single institution.

The Governor was speaking at the 77th Annual New Year School and Conference of the University of Ghana on Tuesday, January 6, 2025.