Speaking at the 2025 GHIB CNVERGE Conference in London —under the theme ‘Rethinking Commodity Finance for Growth’ — Dr. Mumuni noted that Ghana has historically exported most of its mined gold in raw form, despite being Africa’s leading producer and one of the top 10 globally. In 2019, gold accounted for nearly 56 percent of total export earnings, yet the country added nothing to its official gold reserves that year. “This is another avenue where financing, given the place of Ghana in the mine of gold, can support the establishment of refineries and other value chain infrastructure,” he said.

“Such investments would enable the country to retain more value from its natural resources rather than exporting it almost entirely unprocessed,” he added.

The CNVERGE Conference, convened by Ghana International Bank (GHIB), brought together leaders from banking, trade finance, commodity trading, and policymaking to explore ways Africa can move beyond raw commodity exports. Sessions at this year’s event examined opportunities to leverage technology, unlock innovative financing models, and build a more integrated and competitive trade ecosystem.

Dr. Mumuni’s remarks followed the central bank’s recent initiatives in gold-backed policy instruments, including the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) and the Gold-for-Oil (G4O) scheme. Since launching the DGPP in June 2021, BoG has increased its bullion holdings from 8.7 tonnes to 33 tonnes, exceeding its original five-year reserve-doubling target well ahead of schedule. Officials argue that refining capacity within Ghana would not only increase export value but also support the bank’s reserve accumulation strategy, facilitate collateralised financing, and improve the integrity of the gold supply chain through local verification and certification. The proposed expansion of refining capacity aligns with a wider policy objective of moving Ghana up the value chain in commodities — a goal often discussed in relation to cocoa but increasingly relevant to gold, which remains the country’s most significant export.

Dr. Mumuni also pointed to opportunities in gold identification, storage, and trade facilitation, stressing that a coordinated effort between the public and private sectors could unlock significant economic benefits. Analysts say the move could help Ghana capture additional margins from processing, reduce logistical costs associated with exporting raw gold, and position the country as a refining hub for the West African subregion. However, they caution that building a competitive refining industry will require not only capital investment but also consistent regulatory standards and environmental safeguards.

With global demand for traceable, responsibly sourced gold on the rise, expanding domestic refining could also enhance Ghana’s reputation as a compliant and credible source of bullion — a factor that could attract more foreign investment into both mining and downstream processing. For policymakers, other participants stressed, the prospect is clear: by investing in infrastructure that keeps more of the gold value chain within its borders, Ghana stands to strengthen its trade position, improve fiscal resilience, and generate new streams of economic activity.

Source: Joy Business

He noted that the programme has also “improved the country’s credit profile from restrictive default to B- with a stable outlook in June 2025, boosting investor confidence.”

Dr. Zakari disclosed this at the CNVERGE’25 Africa Premier Trade Banking Programme in London, adding that these developments “have contributed to a stable macroeconomic environment, which is of critical interest to your work.”

BoG’s Gold Purchase Programme

Launched in June 2021, the Gold Purchase Programme aims to increase the Central Bank’s gold reserves and diversify its assets. It allows the Bank of Ghana to buy gold from local mining firms and pay them in Ghana cedis.

The initiative is part of efforts to reduce the Bank’s reliance on the US dollar, which is more vulnerable to global market shocks, compared to gold. It also addresses concerns about Ghana’s previously low gold reserves.

As of July, the Bank of Ghana’s gold reserves had reached 34.40 tonnes.

Gold for Oil Programme

Dr. Zakari also highlighted how the success of the Gold Purchase Programme paved the way for the Gold for Oil initiative, which “provides FX and gold to support the importation of petroleum products through government-to-government arrangements.”

He praised the programme for “securing petroleum imports at competitive prices, easing pressure on the forex market, and stabilising ex-pump petroleum prices.”

According to him, this has helped moderate “volatile ex-pump price pass-through effects on transport costs, and in turn, inflation.”

Source: Joy Business

First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Zakari Mumuni, disclosed this at the Ghana Diaspora Investment Forum in Accra.

He said, “Headline inflation is expected to trend further down towards the end-year target of 12%, supported by a tight monetary policy stance.”

Dr. Zakari also highlighted the improved macroeconomic environment that will aid this reduction in the inflation rate in the coming months.

“Macroeconomic fundamentals are projected to improve further to create a business-friendly environment for investors, while growth is projected to remain strong this year,” he added.

Role of Remittances in Reserve Build-up and Cedi’s Stability

The First Deputy Governor stated that remittance inflows have become a critical component of Ghana’s forex build-up. He added that ongoing reforms would tighten foreign exchange rules on remittances to help reduce costs.

“The Bank of Ghana, on its part, has also provided a layer of security and transparency and encouraged the diaspora communities to channel more funds to Ghana,” he assured.

Dr. Zakari Mumuni promised that the Central Bank will continue to promote the development of innovative, diaspora-tailored financial solutions and services to facilitate settlement and investment plans in the country.

Strengthening the Banking Sector to Attract Diaspora Investments

Dr. Mumuni revealed that the necessary measures have been instituted to improve confidence in the banking sector and attract diaspora investments.

According to him, the Central Bank plays a key role in mobilising diaspora capital for development by “offering tailored financial products, leveraging digital financial platforms, and addressing barriers to investment.”

He also announced that the Bank of Ghana will strengthen payment systems to facilitate diaspora investments.

He cited the issuance of various regulations and guidelines to support the payment ecosystem, including the enactment of the comprehensive Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987), which has revitalised the digitalisation agenda.

Innovation and Central Bank Regulations

Dr. Mumuni assured the market that innovation will play a key role in regulating the banking sector, adding, “The Central Bank is looking forward to developing emerging innovations such as digital assets to expand investment options.”

“The Bank has initiated steps to develop guidelines for the regulation of digital credit delivery in Ghana to provide an optimal balance between innovation and financial stability,” he added.

“This is maybe unprecedented,” Dr. Mumuni said on PM Express Business Edition last Thursday.

“If you look at the data from when we started the floating rate regime to now, this is the only time within the first four or five months that we have had this level of strength in the Ghana cedi.”

He revealed that the local currency has appreciated by 12.2% since the beginning of the year.

“Same time last year, we had depreciated by about 13%. So this is a complete reversal of what the situation was,” he noted.

While acknowledging that both domestic and external factors have influenced the cedi’s performance, Dr. Mumuni stressed that the majority of the gains stem from internal policy decisions.

“You will see that the domestic factors really have more weight in this case, in this performance, than the external factors.”

At the core of these gains is a controversial yet deliberate monetary policy stance.

“We raised the policy rate. A lot of people, including GUTA, came after us. They had all kinds of comments. Analysts were not happy about that,” he recalled.

“But we knew exactly what we were doing. And it’s the fruits you are beginning to see,” he added confidently.

The Bank’s decision to tighten monetary policy, he explained, was aimed at one key objective — disinflation.

“We lifted or tightened monetary policy for one reason — to make sure we re-engineer the disinflation process.”

This goal was pursued aggressively through liquidity control.

“We’ve been very, very strong on liquidity sterilisation,” he said. “We are doing this through our open market operations.”

Dr. Mumuni noted that this effort to soak up excess cedi liquidity has had a stabilising effect on the currency.

“This is really helping a lot to take out cedis from the system. And that is actually linked to the policy decision that was made.”

He also pointed to a prior move to adjust banks’ cash reserve ratios.

“This has already sterilised some cedi liquidity in the system. That’s part of what is feeding into this stability.”

He acknowledged the costs of these policies but expressed confidence in their necessity.

“It wasn’t popular. But we stayed focused. And now the numbers speak for themselves.”

He said this is one of the clearest signs that the economy is recovering.

“If there is one thing under the IMF programme that we have done well as a country, it is reserves accumulation,” he said.

“These were very ambitious targets. Anybody would have doubted if we could achieve them.”

Speaking to Joy News’ George Wiafe on PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, Dr. Mumuni revealed that Ghana has gone beyond the final benchmark set by the IMF.

“You know the target. The target at the end of the programme period is three months of import cover. We are above that. We’re around 3.7 months using the IMF metric,” he said.

He added that the numbers look even better when including Ghana’s petroleum funds.

“If you look at it broadly, including the petroleum funds, which also belong to Ghana, we are even at 4.7 months of import cover,” Dr. Mumuni stated.

He said this performance reflects careful planning and strong reserve management.

“This tells you we’ve devised very innovative ways of meeting market demand while still accumulating buffers,” he explained.

According to him, the central bank has been strategic in balancing its foreign exchange interventions.

“Whatever we are doing is now weighted more towards reserve build-up rather than just market support,” he said.

“We are meeting market demand without affecting our reserves.”

Dr. Mumuni rejected suggestions that the central bank is burning reserves to defend the cedi.

“Unfortunately, if that were the case, very smart market players would have read into it. The rally would be short-lived,” he said.

Instead, he said the market is responding positively because the reserve growth is real and organic.

“On the contrary, we are accumulating reserves much faster than anticipated. These are not debt-creating reserves,” he said.

“These are organically accumulated reserves. And they’re high.”

Dr. Mumuni disclosed that by the end of April, Ghana’s reserves were already over $10 billion.

“We even expect that number to hit some $11 billion by the end of the second quarter,” he revealed. “This is far in excess of what is expected under the IMF programme.”

He said this performance is one of the reasons the cedi is showing resilience.

“That’s what’s giving a lot of confidence in the system,” he said. “That’s why the market believes this can be sustained.”

Dr. Mumuni believes this signals a turning point.

“This time is different,” he said.

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