According to Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, the Bank of Ghana will have the first option to purchase any gold mined in Ghana as part of efforts to stabilize the local currency and guarantee macroeconomic stability.
According to Dr. Bawumia on Thursday, July 14, 2022, the government is also working to assist refineries in the nation in obtaining the required certification and in the establishment of more refineries.
Vice President Bawumia stated, “Government has been and will continue to implement forward-looking measures to ensure that the country is not buffeted unnecessarily by external economic shocks as are occurring right now throughout the world, leading the country to engage the International Monetary Fund for balance of payments assistance.” This was said at the launch of a collaboration between the Accra Business School and South East Technological University, Ireland.
Bawumia stressed that one of the most important measures is the right of first refusal for the acquisition of all gold mined in the nation at prices determined by the world market in order to increase the nation’s gold reserves and guarantee currency stability.
“Notwithstanding being one of the big gold producers in the world, Ghana’s reserves of gold at the central bank at the end of 2021 was only 8.7 kilograms. It was against this background that the Bank of Ghana started a Gold purchase program from gold producers to build up its foreign exchange reserves.
“To enhance this programme, Government will implement a new policy (which is already backed by law) under which the central bank (Bank of Ghana) will have first right of refusal for all gold mined in Ghana. The central bank will purchase the gold at world market prices and the mining companies will export the portion that is not purchased by the Bank of Ghana.
“Ultimately, once we accumulate enough gold, future borrowing and our currency can be backed by gold. This will stabilize the cedi long term,” Dr Bawumia explained.
Ghana must also increase the benefits she accrues from the mining of her minerals through value-addition, the Vice President insisted, hence the recent commissioning of a National Assay Lab by the Precious Minerals Marketing Company and the ongoing efforts to acquire international certification for existing refineries.
“We must also deepen our industrialization through value addition to gold. Even though Ghana has two gold refineries, none has London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certification. This limits our full participation in the gold value chain. We will urgently work towards LBMA certification for our refineries in the next few years.
“Value addition to minerals such as lithium and bauxite will similarly be pursued in addition to the One District One Factory (1D1F) programme and the continued implementation of the automotive sector policy.”
