(L-R) President Mahama, Sammy Gyamfi and Ato Forson in a hearty moment
The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has credited the Ghana Gold Board and its leadership with playing a central role in the ongoing stabilisation of the Ghanaian economy, citing decisive reforms, institutional coordination and strong executive support as critical to recent gains.
Speaking in an interview with Radio Gold, Dr Forson described the establishment of GoldBod as a deliberate policy response to structural weaknesses in the economy, particularly the need to build reserves, stabilise the currency and tame inflation.
“I had to tackle inflation, and I had to tackle structural issues like how we build reserves to make sure the currency stabilises,” the Finance Minister said, noting that GoldBod was conceived as part of a broader reform agenda designed to strengthen Ghana’s macroeconomic foundations.
Dr Forson revealed that the idea of GoldBod had been in development for a long time and required leadership with the capacity to execute an ambitious institutional mandate within a short period.
He praised the appointment of Sammy Gyamfi as Chief Executive Officer, describing him as a leader with the energy, drive and determination needed to operationalise the vision of the Board.
“It is difficult to get such people around,” Dr Forson said.
“You need someone with energy, drive, determination and a can-do spirit. You need to study people to know who can deliver, and we believe the President made the right choice.”
The finance minister observed that the pace and scale of work undertaken at GoldBod since its establishment have exceeded expectations, noting that progress achieved within a few months would typically take several years under conventional timelines.
“To be honest, the kind of work Sammy Gyamfi has done at GoldBod in the last few months, it will take somebody five years to do and I salute him for that,” he eulogized.
Dr Forson also highlighted the importance of institutional coordination in delivering results, pointing to collaboration among GoldBod, the Bank of Ghana and other strategic state institutions.
He said the alignment between GoldBod and COCOBOD in building reserves has strengthened the central bank’s ability to intermediate effectively, contributing to improved currency stability and easing inflationary pressures.
“The coordination we have done is working for us,” he stated. “The structural changes we have made, working together with the Central Bank, are yielding results. Today, you can see that the economy is doing well. It is a combination of effort.”
He further underscored that the reforms underpinning these outcomes were made possible by strong political backing at the highest level, crediting President John Dramani Mahama for providing the leadership and support necessary to drive institutional transformation.
“There is no way we could have achieved even a quarter of what we have achieved without the support of the President,” Dr Cassiel Ato Forson said.
The remarks position GoldBod as a cornerstone of Ghana’s emerging economic architecture, reinforcing its role as a strategic national institution established to support reserve accumulation, foreign exchange generation and long-term macroeconomic stability through coordinated state action.
