Ghana is positioning gold as a cornerstone of its economic strategy, with the country’s First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Zakari Mumuni, declaring commodities as “strategic assets for resilience, liquidity, and inclusive growth.” Speaking at the Africa CNVERGE 2025 summit in Accra on Monday, Dr Mumuni outlined how initiatives like the Gold Purchase Programme, the Gold for Oil scheme, and the Ghana Gold Coin are reshaping the nation’s economy and boosting investor confidence.
The Bank of Ghana’s latest figures, updated as of August 2025, reveal that the Gold Purchase Programme—launched in 2021—has significantly bolstered the country’s gold reserves. Reserves have surged from 8.74 tonnes to over 32 tonnes, a move designed to reduce reliance on foreign currency and stabilise the cedi, which faced a 24% inflation spike in 2022. Dr Mumuni highlighted this progress, stating: “The global economy has entered a new era—commodities are now strategic assets for resilience, liquidity, and inclusive growth.”
However, the Gold for Oil initiative, which exchanges domestically sourced gold for imported petroleum, has encountered challenges. A recent Bank of Ghana report, published in March 2025, disclosed losses of GH¢2.137 billion due to fluctuating oil prices, underscoring the risks of this commodity-backed approach. Despite this, the programme remains a bold experiment aimed at addressing economic instability.
The Ghana Gold Coin, introduced as a high-purity investment asset, is also gaining traction. It serves as a hedge against inflation and a tool for wealth preservation, particularly for ordinary Ghanaians navigating global economic uncertainty, according to Dr Mumuni.
This strategy aligns with a broader global trend, as noted by Reuters in 2022 and Business Insider Africa in 2025, where commodities are increasingly viewed as economic lifelines. Yet, academic analysis from the Journal of African Economies (2023) warns that such policies could heighten fiscal risks without effective hedging mechanisms.
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