More than GH¢3 billion injected into Ghana's economy through Gold Board in 4 months - Kwakye Ofosu

The Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has said, more than GH¢3 billion has been injected into the Ghanaian economy in just four months through a government initiative involving the Gold Board.

Speaking on the recent stability of the cedi,  in an interview with GTV on the Breakfast show, Mr Kwakye Ofosu attributed the turnaround to a deliberate policy that mandates all small-scale miners to sell their gold to the Gold Board. 

“In the last four months, more than $3 billion has come into the country in addition to what would have originally come,” he stated.

The Board purchases the gold in cedis, exports it for dollars, and returns the foreign exchange earnings to the local economy.

He explained that the dollars brought in through this system are allocated across key economic sectors with a portion held by the Bank of Ghana to shore up Ghana’s reserves. Some are also injected into the forex market, and others used to settle international obligations.

Prior to the arrangement, small-scale miners exported gold informally, and the foreign exchange proceeds did not enter the formal market.

“Small-scale miners were taking gold out of this country in a manner that was not accounted for. The proceeds did not come to a central point for equitable distribution,” he explained.

He contrasted the current strategy with what he described as the failures of the previous administration. “They had all of 8 years to keep the cedi stable but all we had was unprecedented depreciation,” he said. “In 2022 alone, the cedi lost about 54% of its value. It was the worst-performing currency at the time.”

“The gold board arrangement has come to stay. It is not an adhoc short term measure” Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu assured.

“The President has indicated that at a certain point, it [the cedi] will hover within a certain band and that should be the natural place it should be. But it certainly won’t go to the levels that brought untold hardships to the people of Ghana,” he said.

Reacting to claims that similar solutions existed under the previous government, he replied, “If they indeed had measures, then they should have worked during their 8-year term.”