President of the Concerned Small Scale Miners Association, Michael Kwadwo Preprah, has lauded the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) decision to purchase gold domestically to shore up the country’s assets.
Although he agrees the move will go a long way to develop Ghana, he, however, believes the move can be made sustainable if the central bank holds a consultative dialogue with stakeholders.
On his accord, this announcement from the BoG caught small-scale miners unawares. “We don’t understand the approach BoG will take to purchase the gold from small-scale miners. We already have small-scale miners who are licensed to buy gold from other miners so how is the BoG going to buy domestic gold?”
He noted that for some of these reasons and clarity, the BoG should undertake a feasibility study and collaborate with small-scale miners on the acquisition of the gold stock locally. “This must be a collective action. The government cannot just decide to do this. They should undertake a broader consultation.”
In an interview with Don Kwabena Prah on Happy98.9FM’s Epa Hoa Daben political talk show, Michael Kwadwo Preprah said, “If government wants to buy gold locally, then it needs to resolve the problems in the sector now rather than later. There should be a broader consultation so we can brainstorm and agree on what works for us. With the proper structures put in place, we will willingly sell our gold to government.”
Background
For the first time in about 60 years, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has purchased gold to augment its gold reserves and shore up the country’s foreign assets.
The bank bought 280 kilogrammes of the precious metal this year under a historic gold purchase programme meant to double its gold reserves and supplement the traditional ways that the country has built reserves over the years.
It has since set aside GH¢200 million to be used to purchase 540kg of gold produced domestically this year.
Although gold purchase is a critical component of central banking across the world, the
BoG only returned to the business this year after exiting it around 1961.
It now aims to buy more than 17,500kg — about 17.54 tonnes — of the precious metal in the next five years.