Former Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
The former Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has explained the rationale behind his administration’s decision to implement the gold purchase programme.
According to him, the policy led to an increase in Ghana’s gold reserves from 8.7 tonnes to 30 tonnes.
He noted that rather than relying solely on loans, his government opted for gold, a natural resource that could be acquired with the local currency, resulting in the purchase of gold worth $5 billion within two years.
Speaking to members of the Young Executive Forum (YEF) during his Thank You Tour of the UK, the former Vice President said the move was a deliberate choice between economic sovereignty and dependency.
“$5 billion in gold or $3 billion in loans, we chose sovereignty. In two years, the Bank of Ghana had bought $5 billion worth of gold. Remember, we were going to the IMF just for $3 billion and going through all sorts of hoops. But in two years, we had bought $5 billion,” Dr Bawumia said.
He attributed the cedi’s relative stability to the gold reserves his government secured.
“We increased the gold reserves in Ghana from 8.7 tonnes to 30 tonnes. So, 65 years after independence, we only had 8.7 tonnes, but in just two years, we moved to 30. That is a big backing for the currency.
“Why I went for gold is that you don’t need to export to get gold. You need to export cocoa, timber, and oil to earn foreign exchange. But with gold, you just need to dig it out or pay for it with cedis. So it was a much easier way to do it,” he explained.
Dr Bawumia also criticised the current NDC administration, claiming they have failed to build on the gold reserves.
“People, after all the noise of the election, are paying attention to our reserves. That is one thing we built up to 30 tonnes. They have been in office so far, and they haven’t even increased it by one tonne, not a single one,” he said.
SSD/MA
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