The Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has revealed a significant financial boost to Ghana’s economy, disclosing that more than US$3 billion has flowed into the country within four months of the government’s Gold Board initiative.
“In the last four months, over $3 billion has entered our economy in addition to the expected inflow,” he stated in an interview on GTV.
According to him, the influx is a result of a targeted policy requiring all small-scale miners to sell their gold to the Gold Board. The system allows the board to purchase the gold in Ghana cedis, export it for foreign currency, and reinvest the dollar proceeds into the local economy. “This ensures that the dollars generated are allocated to vital sectors of the economy,” he explained.
A portion of these forex earnings, he said, is held by the Bank of Ghana to boost national reserves, while others are directed into the forex market and used to meet Ghana’s international financial obligations. Prior to this initiative, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu noted that much of the gold produced by small-scale miners was exported through informal channels, depriving the formal economy of its benefits. “Gold was leaving the country without being properly recorded, and the proceeds were not centralised for fair distribution,” he said.
He contrasted the current policy with the performance of past administrations. “They had eight years to stabilize the cedi but left us with unprecedented depreciation,” he noted, pointing out that in 2022 the cedi lost about 54% of its value, placing it among the worst-performing currencies in the world during that period.
Mr. Kwakye Ofosu assured the public that the Gold Board is a permanent structure, not a temporary intervention. “The Gold Board arrangement is here to stay and is not just a temporary fix,” he said. “The President has indicated that, eventually, the cedi will stabilise within a defined range, avoiding the extreme fluctuations that have caused hardship for Ghanaians.”
He also responded to critics who claim similar policies could have been adopted by previous governments. “If they had viable strategies, they should have worked during their eight years in office,” he stated.
The government believes that as the Gold Board initiative continues, its impact on the economy and the performance of the cedi will remain a focal point in conversations about Ghana’s financial trajectory.
