Wednesday, 25th February, 2026
Hon Cassiel Ato Baah Forson
Ajumako Enyan Esiam
Mr Speaker, permit me to extend my profound gratitude to you and to Hon Members of this House for the opportunity to present this important Policy Statement of the Government and country.
Mr Speaker, Ghana achieved a decisive macroeconomic turnaround in 2025, following the 2022-2023 economic crisis by the end of 2025. Mr Speaker, real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth averaged 6.1 per cent in the first three quarters of 2025. Inflation declined sharply from 23.8 per cent in 2024 to 5.4 per cent, and further down to 3.8 per cent in January 2026.
Mr Speaker, interest rate fell sharply, with the 91-day Treasury bill dropping from 27.7 per cent at the end of 2024 to 11.1 per cent in December, and further down to 6.4 per cent in February 2026. The primary balance on a commitment basis improved significantly, from a deficit of 3 per cent in 2024 to a surplus of 2.6 per cent in the year 2025.
Mr Speaker, public debt declined sharply from 61.8 per cent of GDP in 2024 to 45.3 per cent of GDP in 2025. The current account posted a surplus of US$9.1 billion, up from US$1.5 billion in 2024. Mr Speaker, the cedi appreciated by 40.7 per cent against the US dollar, 30.9 per cent against the British pound, and 24 per cent against the Euro. The gross international reserves also increased to US$13.8 billion, representing 5.7 months of import cover from US$8.9 billion, equivalent to four months of import cover.
Mr Speaker, the current gross international reserves level is above the traditional reserve benchmark of three months of import cover. This is, however, not sufficient to provide adequate self-insurance against disruptive economic shocks and its impact on exchange rates, like the historical depreciation of the currency in the years 2022 and 2023. To strengthen Ghana’s resilience to economic shocks, Cabinet has approved the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy. The Policy represents Ghana’s strategic plan to strengthen external resilience by increasing the nation's international reserve equivalent of 15 months of import cover by the end of 2028.
Mr Speaker, this Policy is anchored on the objectives of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), which mandates the Ghana GoldBod to generate foreign exchange for the country and support gold reserves accumulation by the Bank of Ghana. The Policy is also informed by the country’s cycle of economic downturns, recent macroeconomic development, global risk assessment, and Ghana's long-term economic transformation agenda.
Mr Speaker, historically, Ghana has relied heavily on inflows from gold, cocoa, and crude oil exports to build international reserves. However, over the last decade, the country has relied largely on costly swaps, sales and buybacks, and other short-term facilities, as well as Eurobond borrowings to build international reserves, resulting in significant debt service obligations to the people of Ghana. Mr Speaker, this development in the last decade led to the unsustainable debt situation in 2022, the resultant debt default and restructuring, haircut, and subsequent requests for International Monetary Fund (IMF) supported Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme.
Mr Speaker, despite cocoa’s historical importance, its contribution to sustainable foreign exchange stability has been undermined by price volatility, low production, climate risk, and limited value addition. Crude oil, which initially promised to provide fiscal relief and balance of payment support, is now declining very fast due to lack of investment in the last eight years and waning investor confidence, resulting in six years of consistent oil output decline.
Mr Speaker, despite the progress made in 2025, growing global uncertainties make Ghana vulnerable to external financing volatilities, commodity price cycles, global geopolitical tensions, climate-related disruptions, and regional security risk. These have simultaneously lifted gold prices to a historic high and provided an opportunity for Ghana to build reserves to secure the country's external sector against any major shock, to strengthen Ghana’s first line of defense.
Mr Speaker, given these uncertainties, the conventional threshold of three months of import cover is no longer adequate for any country. Government therefore seeks to accumulate a strategic buffer beyond the conventional reserve adequacy levels and build an economic war chest of 15 months of import cover by the end of 2028. This is to safeguard macroeconomic stability, break the cycle of economic downturns, sustain confidence in the currency, and improve investor confidence. Also, to reduce exposure to external shocks and support the long-term economic transformation of our dear country.
Mr Speaker, the objective of this Policy is to build reserves to 15 months of import cover to support Ghana’s longterm economic transformation without compromising economic stability. Historically, this strategy is not new globally. After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the most affected countries embarked on aggressive foreign exchange reserve accumulation as a key policy response. This was driven largely by a desire for self-insurance against future sudden capital reversals and crisis following the traumatic experience of relying on IMF bailout, which came with some strict conditionalities.
Mr Speaker, this helped these economies far better during the later shocks like the 2008 global financial crisis without depleting their external reserves. A diagnosis of Ghana’s reserve trajectory shows a pattern of episodic accumulation linked to opportunistic external borrowing and seasonal cocoa outflows, followed by downturns and drawdowns to meet external obligations.
Mr Speaker, clearly you could see from the chart below that over the years government of Ghana has been building reserves largely from Eurobond borrowings and borrowing from the IMF over the last few years.
Mr Speaker, from a reserve position of 5.4 months of import cover in 2021, following a Eurobond issuance of US$3 billion, reserves sharply declined to a low of under 2.3 months of import cover in September 2023, thereby triggering the depreciation of our currency. The depreciation reflected a strain on external buffers in the face of constrained financial options, capital outflows, heightened macroeconomic pressures, and the need to meet critical foreign exchange obligations such as debt repayment.
Mr Speaker, global gold prices have reached unprecedented levels driven by heightened international risk, sustained accumulation by central banks, and strong safe-haven demand. 3:45 p.m. These developments significantly bolstered export earnings and strengthened external buffers for gold-producing economies, including Ghana.
Mr Speaker, with prices far exceeding their long-term historical averages, gold has emerged as the most reliable and immediate instrument for accelerating reserve accumulation without increasing public debt or introducing distortions in domestic market. Projections from major international financial institutions indicate that gold prices are likely to remain elevated and favourable over the medium term, underscoring the resilience and persistence of the current price cycle.
Mr Speaker, the outlook for gold prices provided a solid foundation for policies that strengthen external buffers, reduce vulnerability to external shock, and support long-term financial stability of Ghana. Harnessing this momentum will be essential to building a more robust and resilient reserve management framework capable of withstanding future global volatilities. The sustained elevation in global gold price presents a strategic opportunity for gold-producing countries to further enhance their reserve-build-up framework, reinforce their external position, and enhance macroeconomic resilience.
Mr Speaker, major gold-producing countries and central banks are capitalising on historical high gold prices by increasing production, export, and official purchases to strengthen their external buffers. China, the world’s largest producer of gold, continues to expand its domestic refinery capacity and use gold both as a key export and as a strategic reserve asset for diversification. Similarly, Russia has leverage on this elevated price environment to boost gold export, export revenues, and channel part of the proceeds into reserve accumulation, using gold as a shock absorber against financial sanctions and global volatility. Australia benefited from high prices through stronger export receipts, improved terms of trade, and higher fiscal and external surplus, which indirectly support reserve strength.
Mr Speaker, across these countries, elevated gold prices are being deliberately used to enhance the foreign exchange inflows, support balance of payment, resilience, and reinforce reserve position amid heightened global uncertainty. This current gold price surge presents a timely opportunity for Ghana to leverage the country’s gold resources to accelerate reserve accumulation and reinforce long-term external resilience for our country.
Mr Speaker, the primary objective of the Ghana National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP) is to increase Ghana’s international reserve to 15 months of import cover by the end of 2028 to support long-term structural transformation while safeguarding the macroeconomic stability. To achieve this, the following intermediate targets are set. First is to achieve a minimum of 8.6 months of import cover by end of this year, 2026. Second, to exceed 11.8 months by end of 2027. And third, to reach 15 months of import cover by end of 2028.
Mr Speaker, these milestones will be reviewed annually based on realised imports, prices, production volumes, and financing conditions. Our gross international reserves at 5.7 months of import cover at the end of 2025, the gap to achieve the target of 15 months of import cover is 9.3 months of import cover. This implies an average annual accumulation of 3.1 months of import cover over the next three years. In 2025, Ghana accumulated additional gross international reserves of 1.6 months of import cover. This provides momentum for the country, but must be accelerated to achieve an average of 3.1 months of import cover in the shortest possible time.
Mr Speaker, to secure the target after netting out debt service, forex operations, energy sector payment, and statutory outflows, the strategy requires an average of US$9.5 billion annual additions to the country’s gross international reserves. To achieve the reserve accumulation target, the GANRAP has set an operational weekly gold purchase target of about three tonnes per week. At three tonnes per week and a price of US$5,000 per ounce, gross receipts are projected at approximately US$25.28 billion annually.
Mr Speaker, Ghana’s strategy for the acquisition of three tonnes of gold per week is in two folds. The first is the Ghana Gold Board to acquire up to 2.4 tonnes of gold per week from artisanal small-scale mining sector. The Ministry of Finance will be making budgetary allocation to the Ghana Gold Board to achieve the objectives. Secondly, the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources is to invoke the preemption right under section 3(d) of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), and section 7 of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), to purchase a minimum of 0.5 tonnes of gold per week from large-scale gold mines.
Mr Speaker, the Bank of Ghana will purchase the gold acquired from largescale mining sector. The gold purchased under section 3(d) of the Gold Board Act and section 7 of the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 shall only be sold by the central bank subject to prior approval of Cabinet and Parliament. Mr Speaker, the following measures will be implemented in the short to medium term. A change in the current acquisition arrangement of the 20 per cent largescale gold output by the Bank of Ghana will be implemented in the short term. First, to ensure compliance by the largescale mining companies, Government shall establish an interagency committee, co-chaired by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and the Minister for Finance with membership from the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission and the Ghana Gold Board. The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources shall invoke the preemption right under section 3(d) of the Ghana Gold Board Act to purchase a minimum of 20 per cent of large-scale gold output, which translates to a minimum of 0.57 tonnes of gold per week.
Mr Speaker, the gold acquired from the large-scale mining sector shall strictly be in the form of doré and processed in Ghana to promote local value addition. The transaction shall be in Ghana cedis only at a prevailing interbank exchange rate and at a discount to be determined by the parties. The applicable discount rate shall be determined based on volume between the Government of Ghana and the largescale mining companies. the gold purchased in doré under this new acquisition arrangement shall be refined by local gold refineries, shipped to LBMA refineries for melting, bar casting and stamping and added to the fiscal gold reserves of the country.
This gold shall only be sold by the central bank, subject to prior approval of Cabinet and Parliament. These measures will ensure strict enforcement of commitment by large-scale mining firms, local value retention, transparency, good governance and acquisition cost reduction while supporting local gold refineries to attain an LBMA certification and standards.
Mr Speaker, the Ghana Gold Board as the national assayer is strategically positioned to enforce this newly proposed acquisition arrangement as it maintains field offices in gold rooms of all large-scale mining firms and assays samples from large-scale gold output before export. The Ghana Gold Board has successfully piloted this new acquisition arrangement with nine largescale mining firms in the last six months. The Ghana Gold Board will put in place a strategy to efficiently mop adequate volumes of artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) gold output, minimum of 2.45 tonnes weekly, through official channels to generate adequate foreign exchange for the country.
Mr Speaker, over the next three (3) years, the Ghana Gold Board aims to mop up about 127 tonnes of ASM gold per annum. This, at current price levels, will generate over US$20 billion in foreign exchange for the country annually.
Mr Speaker, to achieve this objective in an efficient manner the following policy measures will be implemented in the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) sector:
• The Ghana Gold Board shall arrange enough funds to acquire about 3 to 4 weeks of gold and ensure continuous market participation.
• The Ghana Gold Board will assume full responsibility for the signing of off-take agreements and the sale of all ASM gold it procures effective March 2026. This will ensure effective end-toend trading with off-takers and mitigate trading losses while pursuing trading gains for the country.
• The Ghana Gold Board shall deploy effective gold-backed derivative trading programmes and hedging strategies to mitigate market risk.
• To disincentivise smuggling and ensure that adequate volumes of ASM gold are purchased, the Ghana Gold Board may employ price incentives through spot world market price purchases and bonuses for licensed miners.
• Mr Speaker, in the medium term, the Ghana Gold Board will promote ASM formalisation, value-chain traceability and local gold refining to further reduce cost while maximising returns from gold exports in a sustainable manner.
• Mr Speaker, the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Gold Board shall sign an agreement which mandates the Ghana Gold Board to sell the foreign exchange accrued under this policy to the Bank of Ghana only, at a cost determined by the two parties.
• The Ghana Gold Board is mandated to employ trading reforms to reduce its operating cost.
• The Ghana Gold Board to facilitate the establishment of modern LBMA-compliant processing plants in partnership with private investors to optimise recovery, particularly in the ASM sector and promote sustainability.
• Special efforts in the form of a nationwide water body cleansing campaign within designated mining areas will be undertaken by the Ghana Armed Forces.
• Mr Speaker, the National AntiIllegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) shall intensify their activities against illegal mining, especially illegal mining activities in water bodies and forest reserves.
• The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Ghana Gold Board shall support and scale-up sustainability initiatives such as land reclamation.
Other Reserve Boosting Policy Measures
Mr Speaker, Government will deepen structural reforms that expand foreign exchange inflows while reducing persistent FX outflows. Key focus areas include:
• Enhancement of Non-Traditional Exports (NTEs): Scaling up cashew, shea, rubber, and processed agricultural exports;
• Cocoa Sector Recovery: Boosting productivity, rehabilitating diseased farms, and stabilising market access;
• Implementation of the National Policy on Integrated Oil Palm Development: Develop100,000 hectares of new oil palm plantations to ensure selfsufficiency and accumulate foreign exchange;
• Remittance Mobilisation: Strengthening digital financial systems to capture a larger share of diaspora inflows;
• Developing New Oil Fields: Accelerating new field developments such as Pecan, to bolster production;
• Energy Sector FX Savings: Mr Speaker, historically, Ghana has spent approximately $3.0 billion annually to cover energy sector shortfalls and IPP payments.
• This continuous drain acted as a “leaky bucket” for foreign exchange, forcing the Bank of Ghana to divert liquid reserves to meet fuel and power obligations.
• The implementation of the Gas-toPower Transformation Policy will significantly conserve the country’s foreign exchange reserves, making way for sustainable reserve accumulation.
• The Gas-to-Power Policy measures include: i. construction of a state-owned 1,200MW power plant; ii. construction of a second gas processing plant (GPP2); and iii. revamping the oil & gas sector to attract investment into the upstream petroleum sector.
• Mr Speaker, most importantly, maintaining fiscal discipline (primary surplus) is critical to slowdown the pace of foreign exchange reserves depletion.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP) Costs
Mr Speaker, in the last 8 years, the Bank of Ghana has relied on swaps, sale and buy-backs (SBBs) and other shortterm facilities to build reserves. This has been done at a very high cost. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, the Bank of Ghana accumulated reserves of about US$3 billion, US$2 billion and US$650 million at a cost of US$615 million, US$476 million, and US$67 million, respectively through Swaps and Sale and Buy-backs.
Mr Speaker, in those three years, from 2022 to 2024, the Bank of Ghana accumulated reserves of US$5.65 billion from Swaps and Sale and Buy-backs at a cost of US$1.16 billion in interest payments only. The Bank of Ghana also borrowed from international commercial banks such as JP Morgan, Standard Chartered Bank, and Citi Bank to the tune of US$2.0 billion between 2018 and 2021 at a cost of US$182 million. In 2017, Government relied on the inflows from the issuance of a US$2.25 billion bond from Franklin Templeton to support reserve build-up.
Mr Speaker, the inflow of US$2.25 billion from Franklin Templeton to partake in the domestic bond issuance of early 2017, cost the nation about GH₵7.3 billion in interest payments alone from 2017 to 2022. Between 2018 and 2021, Ghana again relied heavily on external borrowings to support reserve build-up. A total of about US$11.025 billion was borrowed by Government from the Eurobond market during the period. These came at a very high cost, ranging between 7.6 per cent and 9.6 per cent per annum.
Mr Speaker, the issuance of the US$11.025 billion of Eurobonds from 2018 to 2021, to support reserve build up, costed Ghana the following: a. US$81.26 million in 2018; b. US$287.58 million in 2019; c. US$524.68 million in 2020; d. US$740.77 million in 2021; and e. US$844.83 million in 2022.
In total, the Eurobond borrowings between 2018 and 2021 to support reserve build-up costed the taxpayer about US$2.5 billion in interest payments alone. It should be noted that Ghana is still servicing these debts, following the end2022 debt default. In 2026 alone, Ghana is required to pay US$1.5 billion in debt service to Eurobond holders.
Mr Speaker, at the peak of the 2022 economic crises, Ghana lost access to the International Capital Market and was in dire need of foreign exchange. Government once again resorted to expensive borrowing of €200 million, US$196.58 million and US$350 million from Afri-Exim Bank at an all-in cost rate of 6.49 per cent and 9.55 per cent, and 9.33 per cent per annum respectively, to support reserve build-up. Evidently, all these borrowings from 2017-2022 were not enough to stabilise the Ghana Cedi leading to depletion of the reserves to unprecedented levels and significant depreciation of the cedi. It is obvious that borrowing to support reserves accumulation is unsustainable and leads to high debt distress and debt overhung.
Mr Speaker, between 2017 and 2024, the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance collectively borrowed to the tune of US$21.7 billion to support reserve build-up at an interest cost of US$3.84 billion and GH₵7.3 billion through Franklin Templeton interest payment.
Mr Speaker, if Government of Ghana had borrowed US$ 10 billion at the 2025 yield of 8 per cent, the cost to the nation would have been US$800 million in just one year. The cost of accumulation reserves through Ghana Gold Board in the year 2025, was significantly lower than the cost of Ghana's 2022/2023 swaps and sale in buybacks. The evidence is so clear.
Mr Speaker, in addition to the comparable lower costs of the Ghana Gold Board model, the activities of the Ghana Gold Board have been instrumental in restoring macroeconomic stability in Ghana. In 2025, some of the benefits include the following; significant international reserve accumulation, historic appreciation of the Ghanaian cedi, significant reduction in inflation, significant improvement in their sustainability and significant savings in the servicing of government external obligation, interest costs, amortisation payment and IPP costs.
Mr Speaker, these macroeconomic gains have delivered meaningful relief to households and businesses through the reduction in fuel prices, food prices, cost of doing business and cost of living. Government will adopt proactive approach to risk management under the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy. Price risk will be mitigated through hedging mechanism and complemented by other trading models. Production risk will be addressed by modernising mining, processing technology and diversifying production site.
Mr Speaker, governance risk will be mitigated through independent audits and enhanced transparency. Environmental and social risk will be addressed through intensified enforcement of anti-illegal mining laws, targeted reclamation, alternative livelihood programmes and community engagement programmes. Mr Speaker, this structured approach aimed to transform mining from a volatile revenue source into a stable, transparent, socially and environmentally responsible pillar for macroeconomic stability.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, this reserve accumulation policy provides a clear, actionable and forward-looking framework to enhance Ghana's external resilience. Ghana is positioned to achieve and sustain reserve equivalent to 15 months of import cover by end 2028. This will be the first time ever in the history of Ghana. Mr Speaker, for emphasis, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah inherited reserves of 11 months of import cover. We strive to achieve 15 months of import cover by 2028.
Government remains committed to executing this policy with discipline, transparency and national consensus. The long-term objective is clear; build an economic war chest to withstand global economic shocks, to secure macroeconomic stability, sustain the economic gains made, improve the standard of living of Ghanaians and build lasting national prosperity for our future generation.
Mr Speaker, on this historic occasion, I call on this august House to consider and approve Ghana's first national Policy, deliberately designed to build external reserves and secure the future of our country. Mr Speaker, I so submit.
Hon Gideon Boako
Tano North
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity granted me to comment on the Statement made by the Minister for Finance on the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy.
Mr Speaker, I have listened to the Minister, the reference to the Finance Committee and until then, we would wait. But before then, I wish to make these preliminary comments. Listening to the Minister for Finance, it is important that we agree that where Ghana has got to needs to accumulate enough reserves to anchor our currency and protect safeguards for the economy. The Minister for Finance has stated that this is the first time Ghana is having such a bold policy.
I wish to differ in opinion that this whole policy hinges on gold and it is important that we stress that the policy to accumulate gold, to shore up our currency and provide other benefits to the economy, is not the first time we are having such a policy. In fact, as the Minister is aware, somewhere in 2021/2022, the Bank of Ghana embarked on the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme and the Gold for Reserves under the leadership of the former Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. It is this policy that has anchored our currency to today. It is important that today this Government has realised the need to increase our good reserves and therefore is coming to Parliament with this Policy. This is how we should govern.
Mr Speaker, I wish to state that I would have loved that when it came to the point of having “cocoa haircuts” for cocoa farmers, the same policy should have come to Parliament for us to debate on as the Minister is doing today. Mr Speaker, it is an undeniable fact that Ghana holds a strategic position in gold production in the world and Africa. Despite this, the level of Ghana's gold holdings is quite anaemic relative to the total holdings institute. Therefore, it is important that as a country, we make steps to accumulate more gold.
Mr Speaker, if this is the position of Government and rightly so, as presented by the Minister for Finance, it begs the question, why this Government decided to sell portions of the gold accumulated that they inherited for this country? Mr Speaker, before the assumption of this Government, we had increased Ghana’s gold reserves from eight tonnes to 32 tonnes and the Government came in to increase it to 38 tonnes. But today as we speak, half of our good reserves have been sold by this Government.
If the policy intention of Government is to accumulate more gold to support the economy, why did the Government decide to sell good that was already existing before they came into power? I heard the argument that we needed to sell that gold because we needed liquidity in forex. Yes, it is important that foreign exchange provides liquidity for the economy, but gold reserves also provide monetary solidity and market confidence. We need both as a country in order to thrive in the globally changing economic system. That is why we from the Minority Side, support any attempt by Government to shore up our currency, to shore up our economy with gold reserves.
Mr Speaker, it is important. What is missing from the Minister’s presentation is the lack of clarity as to whether or not we are moving 100 per cent to gold reserves or we are moving 100 per cent to foreign exchange reserves or we are having a balancing mix. It is important that we manage our gold accumulation within a certain composition mix ratio such that we have enough foreign exchange in terms of fiat currency for liquidity while also holding gold reserves.
It is not clear from the Minister's policy presentation whether or not we are moving straightly to 100 per cent accumulation of gold or 100 per cent accumulation of forex reserves or if we are having a balancing of the two. Gold reserves are not the same as foreign exchange reserves, although gold reserves can be liquidated to get foreign exchange. So, we need to have clarity on that.
Mr Speaker, it is also important to know from the Minister’s presentation, and that is lacking, how we intend to finance the purchase of this gold. Gold Board came into being by changing the name from Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) to Gold Board with an Act. The Minister had told this Parliament that the Government of Ghana was going to finance Gold Board. We never saw any action in that regard, although there were budgetary provisions for that.
The Minister never acted on that, only to realise that the Bank of Ghana was rather pumping money to support Gold Board. But the Minister talks about the achievement that has been made in the foreign exchange market by way of the stability of the cedi. That is fantastic. But it is important for the Minister to note that it does not make economic sense to pump over US$10 billion in cedi foreign exchange intervention and only reduce the rate from 14 to about 11 to 12, when in the past, under the previous government, the rate was reduced from 16 to 14 without a US$10 billion intervention in the economy —
Hon Isaac Adongo
Bolgatanga Central
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity.
I would like to thank the Minister for Finance for his forthrightness and his love for our country, and to thank His Excellency the President and the Cabinet of the Government for thinking about the future of our country and trying to address one of the most significant challenges that we have faced over the last years. Of course, I am happy that my Colleagues have demonstrated the need to support this policy, except to say that they must share in the glory.
Mr Speaker, at the time we were going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2022, Ghana's reserve could only support 0.8 months, less than two weeks of import cover. Yet, somebody said he started gold purchase programme and gold for reserves, but ended up without reserves and had to go to the IMF because after printing a lot of cedis, they struggled to externalise the cedis to pay external obligations and needed now to go and tell the world that they cannot pay. But we want people to understand that nobody pumped US$10 billion into the economy. We inherited a reserve of US$8 billion.
As we speak, we ended the year 2025 with a reserve position of US$13 billion. How do you pump US$10 billion out of US$8 billion and end the year with US$13 billion? So, clearly, nobody pumped US$10 billion into the economy and that continuous peddling of falsehood will not become the truth. The truth is that we took office with a reserve of US$8 billion, we have added US$5 billion to push it to US$13 billion. The US$10 billion that financed the economy is an intermediation of the economy's own generation of forex. It is not money sitting at Bank of Ghana, which we call people and pump the money for them. So, please, that has to disappear.
Mr Speaker, my Colleague also made a very important Statement that I would want to associate with. It is important that we understand that this is going to cost a lot of money and as a country, we must think around how to finance all these ambitious projects that we intend to embark on. The emphasis is to convert cedi resources into forex resources. Certainly, when we undertake that, it also means that with the reserve that we are building, Ghanaians are going to work to produce the gold. Ghanaians are now going to get a lot of money, so definitely, the central bank must now incur the cost of mopping up the excess liquidity.
As a country, we must engage in the conversation to share the cost of mopping up that excess liquidity so that it does not sit entirely in the books of the central bank in an attempt to solve a major problem for which our tool is to assist with the central bank. M
r Speaker, we also have to understand that inbuilt in this exercise is the need to have a robust risk management system. A couple of years back, in 1999, for those of you who are old enough, you would have heard that the Bank of England offloaded a stock of gold. Immediately, gold prices collapsed, and our own gold share at Ashanti Goldfields became a problem because the shares at Ashanti Goldfields plummeted. As a result, we had to sell the gold shares to Ashanti Gold and it was because we had hedged our gold into the future and were being called upon to make margin costs of about US$250 million which Goldfields did not have.
So, we need to understand that it is not enough to pile up gold at the Bank of Ghana that will be facing risk when, in fact, it is the forex that we need. So, we need to assess how much of gold we need to keep vis-a-vis the forex that we have. So, when the central bank decided to liquidate about 22 per cent of gold resources at the bank, it was precisely to manage the risk. That is why we did not see a fall in the reserve, but rather an increase in the reserve to US$13 billion. Do we want to keep gold alone so that when gold prices plummet, then all our reserves disappear? We must have a risk management tool that allows us to balance what we need to keep and our peers across the world were doing an average of 18 to 22 per cent of their reserve in gold.
Mr Speaker, therefore, we decided to also follow the same footsteps by making sure that we liquidate the excess gold so that we are within the 20 to 22 per cent of gold reserve in our portfolio. That was what was done. It is not that —
Hon Tweneboa Kodua Fokuo
Manso Nkwanta
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Statement made by the Minister for Finance.
Mr Speaker, I listened carefully to the Minister for Finance, and I know he is following the same trend that we know, that the economy is doing well, macroeconomic indicators are looking good. The little I would require of our Minister for Finance is that whenever he is giving such indicators, he should please let us know what is happening across the world or the globe. Let us know what is happening in our subregion so that we can make some inference and do some comparisons.
Mr Speaker, it is not just Ghana. The trends that we are seeing are not just Ghana. I had the opportunity to be in Monrovia, where we had a high-level discussion on the convergence to have the eco-coming upstream end of next year. We could see that within the subregion, all the macroeconomic metrics that we are patting ourselves on the back for, are equally doing well. But then we ask ourselves, even in Ghana, what really are the middle movers that are really supporting the macroeconomic indicators that our Minister for Finance spoke about?
Mr Speaker, we are touting ourselves that we want to build reserves with the gold. If they want to make GoldBod a better institution, what they are doing now is introducing risks. If we look at the structure now, we have one institution at the very top called the Bawa Rock Company Limited. It is the only institution aggregating all the gold we are getting from this country.
Mr Speaker, this is a significant risk to this country because Bawa Rock Company Limited has got the security or guarantee to underwrite this gold. But let us ask ourselves why we would allow just one company to bear such significant risk? It is just too much risk for one company to bear. Now we want to build significant reserves, and we have this company that has been exposed so much that any trigger on the guarantee that it is producing will send us flat, and this policy that we are bringing across will just flop completely.
So, Mr Speaker, I would rather advise that we look at managing the risk of GoldBod to ensure that the entity we are relying on to help us build the reserves we are trying to boost is run well and that the risk is well managed. I thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon Felix Kwakye Ofosu
Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to comment briefly on the presentation made by the Minister for Finance.
Mr Speaker, this has to go down as one of the most forward-looking economic policies envisaged by any government because we do know that the Ghanaian economy, for many decades prior to last year, had been undermined significantly by challenges with the extent of our reserves and the implications that it has on the depreciation of our currencies.
Indeed, as the Minister highlighted in his Statement, previous governments have attempted to address our forex concerns through expensive borrowing, and he indeed showed that in the eight-year period that our Friends on the other Side stayed in government, they had to cough out US$3.4 billion and GH₵7.3 billion in order to borrow up to US$21.4 billion to shore up our reserves and protect our currency.
Even then, our currency suffered a catastrophic decline, which then imposed severe hardships and suffering on the people of Ghana. It meant that a succeeding government was going to have to toe a different line in order to achieve the objective of having significant reserves to protect our currency, and this Government has proven resourceful in coming up with this arrangement to ensure that we overcome this perennial difficulty.
Our Friends have a penchant for being quick to claim credit for the successes chalked in the last year in terms of the gains made by the Ghana cedi. They claim it is a product of some policy initiative implemented by their now flagbearer and former chairperson of the Economic Management Team.
Mr Speaker, when it suits them, in one breath, they say that he had absolutely nothing to do with economic management and that it was the responsibility of somebody else to manage the economy and then in another breath, they insist that the same man who had nothing to do with the economy was able to single-handedly impose a gold for reserve policy on the government. So, they have to decide where they stand. Was the man in charge of the Ghanaian economy or not? He could not have been in charge and also not be in charge at the same time. They have to decide and stay consistent.
Mr Speaker, the records show that the GoldBod arrangement, which is responsible for the successes that we have chalked with the Ghana cedi, was contained in our 2020 manifesto. It was proposed as a solution to perennial shortages in forex accumulation and depreciation of our currency. We also know that the whole gold for reserve policy was a “Hail Mary” attempt.
Mr Speaker, I am sure you follow American football. So, you do know that in the course of American football, when one team is losing and the clock is winding down, they take a long shot in the hope that they will score. After they depleted our reserves, they were desperate and therefore had to resort to this gold for reserve policy, which was riddled with a lack of transparency. So, they have to tone down the efforts to usurp the work done by the GoldBod. They must give credit where it is due.
In any event, how is it that they were able to implement this gold for reserve policy and yet our currency depreciated to the extent that it did? How is it that the policy that they say was ingenious did not yield any results and that at the same time that they were implementing the policy, our currency was stumbling? Yet our currency has responded to the policy initiative of this administration. As we speak, Ghanaians are feeling the relief.
Everywhere we go, Mr Speaker, the prices of thousands of commodities and items on the markets have come down. And it is a direct consequence—
Hon Abdul Kabiru Tiah Mahama
Walewale
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker, the Minister for Finance has started what will, arguably, be the death of a policy I thought would survive beyond today. He has committed three sins, and those sins are actually speaking to the bad omen around this policy. First, the sin of selective amnesia. That sin is so fatal that if we choose to give a history of Eurobond issuers for a particular period of eight years, losing sight of the years before, it is the first sin that is going to bring doom to this policy.
Mr Speaker, the second sin is the sin of propaganda. That is when one wants to highlight a policy to rally around the House and get everyone on board; one must acknowledge leaders of old who have initiated similar things on which he is building. It cannot be true, and it is never true, and it ought not to stand in this House, that this is the first time we are contemplating as a country on a policy for the accumulation of reserves that is anchored on natural resources or commodities. It cannot be true, and the House should reflect that the Bank of Ghana has initiated this policy. The current leadership of the Bank of Ghana has actually acknowledged the previous attempts by previous leaders to accumulate reserves. So that is the first thing.
Mr Speaker, the second thing I want to correct before I even go to the substantive and that is the third mistake. Mr Speaker, the third mistake is that when they rise to contribute to the Motion, they are failing to be religious to the facts. When Hon Adongo rose to say that the gold reserve was GH₵8 billion, it was a total falsehood. We left reserves of GH₵9.1 billion, and it is in the Bank of Ghana report. Mr Speaker, the second misinformation is that they were doing 0.8 months of import cover. The Bank of Ghana report stated that we left office with four months of import cover, which he served as a Board member. Mr Speaker, that is another misinformation.
Mr Speaker, he said that the Bank of Ghana is not propping up the cedi with annual or monthly introduction of US$1 billion to prop up our cedi; that is also another falsehood because the Bank of Ghana itself admitted and termed it what we call “market intimidation.” So, these are the facts before this House, and when they rise to speak to the facts, they should stay true and loyal to the facts.
Mr Speaker, let me now come to the broad contours of his policy, the GANRAP. It is anchored on nothing but commodities, namely; gold, crude oil, and cocoa prices. Gold is the only one sustaining it because we have had a record increase in prices from US$2,600 per ounce to almost US$5,000 now, as we have it. But crude oil prices are all on a nose dive.
Mr Speaker, so, when they are introducing a policy that is anchored on commodity pricing, they must have safeguards and risk mitigating measures. In this policy, Mr Speaker, there is absolutely nothing that speaks to the mitigating measures except to say that they are now going to have what they call, an energy sector payment plan or cocoa sector recovery plan. Cocoa has been mentioned only in one line; meanwhile, cocoa, before gold, was the mainstay of our country, and the major export of our country that supported our economy in those days. That is another problem.
Mr Speaker, I will then come to what they want to do. In terms of the measures, they mentioned that 20 per cent of large-scale gold would be harnessed, and that will translate to something like 0.57 ounces per week. Mr Speaker, I sat in a meeting at the Jubilee House where large gold miners were called through the Chamber of Mines, and we clearly stated to them, and they agreed to allow the Bank of Ghana to buy 20 per cent of their gold produce. So, what is new? Nothing is new in that particular measure, and then they would come and present it as if it were a new policy.
Mr Speaker, they are also talking of non-traditional export. We remember that President Kufuor took initiatives on the promotion of non-traditional exports. Mr Speaker, they also talked about the cocoa sector reform and the development of new fields. Even the new field that they want to develop, it was President Kufuor who discovered the oil. So, when they come to this particular House and want to present a policy to the Government or to the people of Ghana, they must contemplate that they need policy coherence. That they need the people of Ghana to support them in this policy and not come with half-truths to present it as if it is the Holy Grail, and that, for the first time, we are having an accelerated gold reserve programme. It is not true.
Mr Speaker, in the fullness of time, during the debate of the Motion, we will expose the lie—
Hon Kwame Governs Agbodza
Adaklu
Mr Speaker, I want to congratulate the Minister for Finance for this ambitious policy outdooring on the floor of this House. Indeed, Ghana can do better if we can build up a reserve for 15 months.
Mr Speaker, I think the presentation also answers one of the requirements of the respected Minority Leader when he said that the Statement must be factual, and the Statement has been very factual, unlike a Statement that was quoted using Psalm 23 to 118, which was full of nonfactuals. Mr Speaker, did I hear my Colleague criticising this policy? His problem is that he is pretending to have a reason to criticise everything. Where is Dr Kabiru Mahama? He has even left the room just after his comment.
Mr Speaker, when they were doing the Gold for Oil policy, they did not even bring any paper to this House to present to Members of Parliament. This is the difference between them and the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Mr Speaker, let me tell them this.
I heard Dr Kabiru Mahama talking about the fact that we did not say anything about cocoa. I wish he were here when he actually said that he sat in a meeting when they had a discussion about the gold people. He also probably sat in a meeting that decided to pay US$29 million to a contractor to build a road between Savelugu and Walewale. [Interruption] Hold on, because he linked it to cocoa.
Mr Speaker, let me tell them, the US$29 million that was paid to the Indian contractor who did no work could have bought 123,000 bags of cocoa, and guess what, the US$100 million spent on the Cathedral could have bought over 450,000 bags of cocoa. That is what they should have done. But let us look at it. Mr Speaker, the Minority Leader should listen to this if his Government matched this achievement.
Mr Speaker, we are saying that when they left inflation at 23.8 per cent, today, inflation is at 3.8 per cent. Are they not excited? Today, a 90 Day Treasury Bill, which they left at 27.7 per cent, today, it is 11 per cent. Today, businesses can borrow money and do proper business. Even including cocoa farmers can borrow cheaper under this Government, and the public debt that they left at 61 per cent, today is 45 per cent. So, what exactly are they doing?
Mr Speaker, let me tell them this. I heard that, in fact, the Minister for Finance just told me that so all along, when they said we had reserves of about four months, they were pretending that we had money. So, they go to borrow money from the World Bank and very expensive loans, come and put it in their account, and then pay interest on it. Who does that? When one is broke and borrows money, one applies it to something that can generate revenue. But not knowing, all they were doing with Mr Ken Ofori-Atta was to borrow money expensively and put it in their bank account as if it were theirs and charge interest on it. That is a very lazy way of managing an economy. So, what we are saying is that these policies will anchor the future of our children.
To build reserves so that we do not wake up one day and say that once the price of a commodity falls, within two weeks, the cedi is falling? Today, I can hear them say, “Look at what will happen, and the cedi will fall”, but by the grace of God, the cedi will continue to disgrace them. The cedi is stable. Their wishes will never come to pass. President Mahama is obviously a better president than President Akufo-Addo, and whoever will take over from President Mahama will surely be a better president than whoever they are talking about.
Mr Speaker, let me repeat, I said that the US$100 million they spent on the Cathedral could have bought 450,000 bags of cocoa. The US$29 million spent on the Walewale Road, for which he wants no road, could have bought another 120,000 bags of cocoa. So, if anybody has cheated cocoa farmers, they have cheated cocoa farmers. Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
Hon Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin
Effutu
Thank you for the opportunity to make a comment on the Statement by the Hon Minister for Finance. The Minister for Finance came to this House with his technical team, sought the leave of the House to present to us a document he has conveniently titled, “Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy 2026 to 2028”. Having completed that duty, the 188 of his own Side seemed not to be excited.
Mr Speaker, we are not managing an economy to talk about numbers that have no direct correlation and benefit to the ordinary people on the streets of Accra. Mr Speaker, the Minister for Finance is here talking about inflation. What is inflation? When we go to the market and we cannot afford and we say inflation. The Minister for Finance, came here talking to us about some 15 months import cover. Mr Speaker, we are not interested in his economic theories.
Mr Speaker, the Minister for Finance must know that this House is not interested in his new theories. The people of Ghana, and I start from the youth were promised one job, three shifts. I expect him as a Minister for Finance to come to this House to address us on effort he is making. It has been one year. The Minister for Finance’s own constituent, he should give us data om how many people has he employed? In Jomoro, in Evalue Gwira, and in Effutu. The Minster for Road and Highways in his own constituency Adaklu, how many people have benefited from job creation policy? They come to this House, and tell us 15 months import cover and they come and spend a whole one hour when their people have no jobs.
Mr Speaker, even when it comes to the recruitment, it is a complete scam and I will explain to them. The recruitment into Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, and Ghana Prisons Service. They are now even telling the youth that they should go and buy forms. They should go behind computer and do aptitude tests. In this country, how many areas have internet? The youth are spending more. The youth who are already unemployed, they are borrowing to spend, to have access to computer. These are things that they have ignored. They come and sit here and say “macro, macro”— Macro and accumulation.
Minister for Finance, I am not interested in your macro numbers. I am interested in the bread-and-butter issues. Electricity, on paper they have increased electricity tariffs by over 30 per cent. Put the numbers on paper aside. For those of them who, because they are in Government, they are ignoring the relatives on the ground. Ghanaians cannot afford electricity. They should know this. These are the things they should introduce policies for reform on how to reform the energy sector. They are not doing that. They come here and say “macro”. I will not commend them for doing this. I am not going to praise them. Electricity needs reforms. Those are the bona fides they must pay attention to.
Then they say 15 months, and Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation. When we buy electricity— Mr Speaker, this morning, somebody told me that she used to buy 1,000 for a whole month. Today, even if you buy 2,000 for one-week— Mr Speaker, let us be careful what we tell the people of Ghana. We are talking about electricity. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) came into office. When they came into office, the first thing they did was to increase electricity tariffs. Instead of pursuing reforms under their own Reset agenda, they increased electricity, totalling 30 per cent.
I repeat, the reality is that electricity tariffs have gone up by over 100 per cent because, the consumption—the people on the street in our constituencies, what they buy is unable to sustain them. They know the numbers. They know how much they purchased in 2024. They know what they were buying in 2023 as compared to what they are buying now.
Mr Speaker, that is the reality. Next is the cocoa. Our cocoa farmers have been a supporting pillar of our economy since the days of Gold Coast. This Government came into being and they have abandoned all the supporting pillars of the economy. I do not need to be an economist to understand what leads to economic growth. My basic ideas as an entrepreneur are enough for me to know that when we create opportunities, the economy grows.
Mr Speaker, this Government promised that upon assumption of office, a bag of cocoa will be increased to GH₵6,000. The Minister for Finance said so, the Ranking Member on the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs said so. Mr Speaker, today, they have rather reduced the producer price. At the comfort of his office, the Minister for Finance reduced the producer price. Cocoa farmers— You sat in your office and reduced producer price of cocoa. Thousand Ghana cedis is what you took away. Cocoa farmers cannot pay fees. They are borrowed from the cocoa krakye. They cannot take care of their health. Those matters do not concern them. Then they come and say Ghana Accelerated National Reserve.
What we demand from you, Mr Finance Minister, is to immediately restore the producer price of cocoa that they came to meet. If you cannot increase, do not reduce it. If you cannot increase, do not reduce it. That is the reality. That is the reality, Hon Minister for Finance.
Mr Speaker, again, instead of the Minister for Finance introducing incentives to grow the economy, he is not. What businesses need is rebates, tax breaks. What businesses need is a proper environment to grow their business. The Minister is not offering any of that. There are no incentives in the economy. No employment, and then they come here to tell us that, indeed, we should allow them to create a certain reserve accumulation. What is reserve accumulation when your own constituents are hungry? Their people are tired of their promises. They do politics of sloganeering.
Enough of the slogans. Create jobs! Create jobs! One job, three shifts, they were the ones who said it. Create jobs. They said it. Create the jobs! One job, three shifts—they said it. Create the jobs. Go to Dansoman, Ablekuma North and Ablekuma South, they fought.
Hon Ayariga Mahama
Bawku Central
Mr Speaker, I honestly think that a very important national Policy has been presented to us as a Parliament and this is the first time it has happened.
Mr Speaker, I can hear Friends opposite indicating that this is not the first time there is an attempt to create a reserve, and that the Gold for Oil (G4O) Policy was meant to create a reserve. But at least at that time, we did not have the benefit of a coherent policy document presented to Parliament for us to consider, debate, and approve. It would have been part of the records of this House. Today, there is a Policy document presented to this House, and we are seeking to detract from the importance and the value of the presentation that has been made. I think this is most unfortunate.
So, Mr Speaker, it is not every day that my Brother, the Minority Leader, will prevail. He must learn to accept even when he is not prevailing. He has made his point, and everybody has seen that. I even got up and supported his position. But unfortunately, we as Leaders were not told the time. That I admit it. I do not see the need to continue to engage in banter with the Speaker. I am going to suffer that, because I am going to speak for only 10 minutes, and I have already spent about four minutes of that time trying to address this situation. So please, Minority Leader, let us focus on the Business of the day.
Mr Speaker, tomorrow, there is going to be a full-blown debate on this matter. So tomorrow, he will have the opportunity to say everything that he wants to say before we approve the Policy document. So, there is no need for us to spend all the time engaging in a fight. Mr Speaker, strictly speaking — [Interruption]. Please, he should stop doing what he is doing. When he was speaking, I kept quiet and listened to him. When I am speaking, he should not interject the way he is doing. Strictly speaking, the Speaker is right. The rules say five minutes for every Member. When we go to Questions, it makes an exception for Leaders to ask more than one after the main Question has been asked. So, where the rules intend to make an exception, they make a clear exception. The rules do not say that if one is a Leader, he can speak ad infinitum.
No. The rules say five minutes for every Member commenting on a Statement, and that was a Statement, and the time is five minutes. It is only a privilege that the Speaker has conferred on us by allowing us as Leaders to speak for 10 minutes. So, he cannot take the Speaker on for allowing him 10 minutes when the rules even say five minutes. He can only plead. If he pleads and the Speaker accepts, that is it. If the Speaker does not accept, that is it. This is not necessary. Tomorrow, we will have a full-blown debate on the Report. Please, the First Deputy Speaker is also our Colleague.
Mr Speaker, in keeping with the rules, I will not say much. All I can say in response to what has been said is that this Policy is simply to deal with the problem of a rainy day. Today is a sunny day, where gold prices have shot up, and they are US$5,000 per ounce from US$2,000 thereabouts. We are benefiting from this; we do not know what the future holds. And a visionary leadership and a visionary Minister for Finance, has to think about tomorrow if commodity prices are not as good as they are today. Just last week, we witnessed a slump in the price of cocoa. When cocoa prices were high, if we had such visionary leaders, and we had saved in preparation for when prices came down, we would not have been demonstrating in the streets.
We would have had a buffer to support us to be able to cushion the cocoa farmers. So, if you are interested in the welfare of cocoa farmers, you must be interested in this Policy that is being introduced today because it is also to cushion both the cocoa farmer and the gold miner in the future when the prices slump. So, this is the essence of today. We learn from the mistakes of the past. We did not take advantage of the past when prices were very high. Today, we want to put in place a policy and a mechanism that will enable us to harness the opportunity provided by the huge gold prices to create a reserve that in the future we can depend on as an economy.
Mr Speaker, I hear arguments that what is the benefit of a good reserve? Let me just take cement prices. Because of the good policies that have been implemented, the cedi appreciated in relation to the dollar. As a result, when we imported 60,000 metric tonnes of clinker, we paid a duty of GH₵16 million under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government. Now, as a result of the reduction in the dollar exchange rate, when we import the same 60,000 metric tonnes of clinker, we pay a duty of only GH₵11.5 million; from GH₵16 million to GH₵11.5 million.
Mr Speaker, this is the benefit of implementing policies like that. This low price is being transferred to the consumer, the person buying the cement. That is why cement prices have come down from GH₵115 per bag to GH₵85 per bag. That is why the price of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) pipes has come down from GH₵15.00 per 20mm PVC pipe to GH₵9.00. That is how the price of petrol has come down from GH₵80.00 to GH₵49.00.
Mr Speaker, I can go on and on and on, because the policies are translating into the lives of our people. They are paying lower prices. Indeed, I know there are complaints that the prices are not going down as much as the consumers expect because when they see government interventions, they expect impact that will be higher but we know that with time we will get there. But no one can deny the fact that these policies are translating into improvements in the living conditions of our people.
Mr Speaker, let me make the last point. He talked about job creation. The Ghana Statistical Service reported that in the last 12 months, one million people have found jobs in the Ghana economy. One million people have found jobs. Go to the Ghana Statistical Service. They reported that in the last quarter of 2024, the number of people who are working—
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