Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has pledged to investigate the government’s gold-for-oil policy if he becomes president.
Speaking at the 3rd Annual Transformational Dialogue on small-scale Mining at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in Sunyani, he expressed that the policy lacks transparency and needs thorough assessment.
“We will investigate the opaque gold for oil program and expose the actors benefiting from this so-called barter agreement. Reports reaching me suggest that a new debt burden is being created because Ghana has not been able to keep up with its delivery of gold under the program.”
According to Mr. Mahama, he intends to uncover the beneficiaries of the deal and address concerns about Ghana’s inability to meet its gold delivery obligations, which reportedly create a new debt burden.
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia introduced the policy in 2022 to tackle Ghana’s declining foreign currency reserves and the increased demand for dollars by oil importers, leading to a weakened cedi and higher living costs.
Under the gold-for-oil program, Ghana aims to secure competitively priced oil by trading gold to eliminate pressure on the cedi, lower fuel prices, and resolve balance of payment issues.
As of March 2023, over 60,000 ounces of gold worth over $97 million had been purchased from local mines. However, the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) aims to acquire at least 160,000 ounces of gold per month, valued at around $300 million, which could cover about 50% of the country’s monthly oil demand.
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Source: Comfort Sweety Hayford/ATLFMNEWS
