KON Takes On Government: Bawumia’s Gold Ideas Rebranded “If This Gov’t Finds The Program Useful, There Is No Need To Rebrand It As Something New”

Minority Spokesperson on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, set the tone for debate in Parliament yesterday, questioning what he described as the repackaging of an existing gold-backed reserve strategy first championed by former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.

This was when the lawmakers considered and approved the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP 2026–2028)

Taking the floor during deliberations, Mr Oppong Nkrumah argued that GANRAP substantially mirrors the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme and the broader Gold-for-Reserves (G4R) concept introduced under the previous administration.

“The program was designed to boost the foreign reserves by buying local gold and either adding it to bullion or converting it into forex,” he said.

In his view, the current framework represents continuity rather than novelty. “Ghanaians deserve honesty. If this government finds the program useful, there is no need to rebrand it as something new.

“Admit that you inherited a working policy and build on it. Candor is central to credible economic management,” he stressed.

Despite broad parliamentary support for strengthening reserves without further borrowing, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah raised concerns about what he described as inconsistencies in recent reserve management decisions.

“A few weeks ago, they sold 50 percent of our gold reserves and converted them into U.S. dollar-based assets. Now they are asking Parliament to approve buying more gold to replenish reserves.  Why sell at $4,000 per ounce only to consider repurchasing at over $5,200?” he asked.

While he acknowledged the macroeconomic rationale behind leveraging gold to stabilise the currency, he warned that transparency would determine public confidence in the programme.

“The Ghanaian voter is informed and understands economic policy. What matters is building on existing frameworks responsibly,” he said.

The Root of the Gold for Reserve Strategy

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah’s argument is anchored in the timeline of Dr. Bawumia’s public pronouncements on gold-backed reserve accumulation.

The Domestic Gold Purchase Programme was officially launched on June 17, 2021 by the Bank of Ghana to increase Ghana’s gold reserves and reduce reliance on foreign currency borrowing.

At the launch, then Governor Ernest Addison publicly credited then Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia for championing the idea.

Dr. Addison acknowledged that the programme stemmed from discussions on how Ghana, despite being a leading gold producer — held minimal gold reserves while depending heavily on external borrowing to shore up foreign exchange buffers.

At the time, Ghana’s gold holdings stood at about 8.7 tonnes. Dr. Bawumia, in speeches at the launch and later at the Ghana Gold Expo in July 2021, described the programme as a “game changer,” arguing that boosting domestic gold purchases would diversify reserves, ease forex pressures and stabilise the cedi.

The strategy gained prominence during the 2022–2023 economic crisis when reserves declined sharply.

In July 2022, he announced that the central bank had secured first right of refusal to purchase locally mined gold, deepening the framework.

The policy later expanded into the Gold-for-Oil initiative, which used gold to support petroleum imports without immediately drawing down U.S. dollars.

By the end of 2024, Bank of Ghana data showed gold reserves had risen to over 30 tonnes — a development the Minority says demonstrates that GANRAP is an expansion of a framework first laid in 2021 rather than an entirely new concept.

Finance Minister Makes Case for Acceleration

But when Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson rose to present the policy statement to Parliament on Wednesday, February 26, 2026, he framed GANRAP not as a rebranding exercise, but as a strategic escalation, a deliberate shift away from what he described as Ghana’s costly history of borrowing to build reserves.

Dr. Ato Forson told the House that Ghana had emerged from the 2022–2023 economic crisis with renewed macroeconomic stability in 2025.

Growth had rebounded strongly, inflation had fallen sharply, and the cedi had recorded one of its strongest recoveries in recent history.

Public debt had declined significantly as a share of GDP, while the current account had swung into surplus.

Yet, he cautioned, the country remained exposed to global shocks. While gross international reserves had risen to US$13.8 billion by the end of 2025 – equivalent to 5.7 months of import cover, he argued that the traditional three-month benchmark was no longer adequate in a world defined by geopolitical tensions, commodity price swings, climate disruptions and volatile capital flows.

“The events of 2022 and 2023 demonstrated how quickly external buffers can erode,” he told Parliament, noting that reserves had once fallen to under 2.3 months of import cover during the height of the crisis.

It is against that backdrop, he said, that Cabinet approved GANRAP, a structured and legally anchored framework designed to build what he described as an “economic war chest” equivalent to 15 months of import cover by the end of 2028.

Unlike previous episodes where reserves were boosted through Eurobond issuances, swaps and short-term facilities, the Minister argued that the new policy seeks to rely primarily on Ghana’s own mineral endowment particularly gold to accumulate reserves without incurring fresh debt.

He recounted how, between 2017 and 2024, successive borrowing and reserve-support operations cost the nation billions of dollars in interest payments.

Eurobond issuances alone between 2018 and 2021 generated substantial reserve inflows but left the country servicing heavy interest obligations, even after the 2022 debt default.

By contrast, he said, operations of the Ghana Gold Board in 2025 generated approximately US$10 billion in foreign exchange at a fraction of the cost that similar borrowing would have required.“Borrowing to support reserves accumulation is unsustainable and leads to debt distress,” Dr. Ato Forson stated.

How GANRAP Will Work

Under GANRAP, the government plans to accumulate an average of US$9.5 billion annually in additional reserves. This requires weekly gold purchases of approximately 3.02 tonnes.

The Ghana Gold Board will acquire a minimum of 2.45 tonnes weekly from the artisanal and small-scale mining sector, supported by budgetary allocations from the Ministry of Finance.

In addition, government will invoke pre-emption rights under mining legislation to secure at least 20 percent of output roughly 0.57 tonnes weekly from large-scale mining companies.

The gold acquired will be refined and added to Ghana’s physical reserves, with any sale of that gold by the Bank of Ghana requiring prior approval from both Cabinet and Parliament.

Intermediate targets have been set to gradually increase import cover to 8.6 months by the end of 2026, exceed 11.8 months by 2027 and ultimately reach 15 months by 2028.

 

The post KON Takes On Government: Bawumia’s Gold Ideas Rebranded “If This Gov’t Finds The Program Useful, There Is No Need To Rebrand It As Something New” appeared first on The Ghanaian Chronicle.

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