The Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has stated that former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia does not deserve credit for Ghana’s Gold for Reserves programme, insisting that the policy was not his original idea.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, Mr Kwakye Ofosu explained that the Bank of Ghana had been accumulating gold reserves long before Dr Bawumia assumed office.
According to him, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration inherited about eight tonnes of gold reserves, indicating that gold accumulation was already part of the central bank’s long-term strategy.
He stressed that the use of gold as a reserve asset is a common global practice and cannot be attributed to any single individual.
“The NPP accumulated about eight tonnes of gold, which shows that the central bank has long been increasing its gold reserves. It is incorrect to attribute the idea of buying gold for the central bank solely to Bawumia; other countries also maintain gold in their reserves. Therefore, the principle of using gold as a reserve cannot be claimed as his idea,” he said.
Mr Kwakye Ofosu added that while gold remains an important reserve asset, it is also volatile and must be carefully balanced with other forms of reserves.
“Reserves are not held exclusively in gold; they must be diversified. Gold is a volatile commodity, with prices that can rise and fall significantly, so proper management is essential. Currently, we have about $13.8 billion in reserves that we have not used, along with approximately 20 tonnes of gold,” he stated.
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