Member of Parliament for Tano North and a member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr. Gideon Boako, has described the government’s newly announced accelerated reserve accumulation policy as a rebranding of the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration’s Gold-for-Reserves programme.

Dr. Boako’s comments follow Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson’s announcement of plans to shore up Ghana’s international reserves to 15 months of import cover by the end of 2028. According to the Minister, the policy is aimed at strengthening macroeconomic stability, shielding the economy from external shocks, and supporting long-term structural transformation.

However, speaking on Channel One Newsroom on Wednesday, February 25, Dr. Boako argued that the initiative does not constitute a new policy direction and therefore did not warrant a formal presentation before Parliament.

He criticised the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, accusing it of discontinuing what he described as a purposeful Gold-for-Reserves programme only to ‘out of shame’ reintroduce it under a different name .

“This is something which is already in practice looking at the design and the structure of the policy. If a Minister tells you that they want to use Ghana Cedis to buy gold to accumulate reserves such that it can keep us 15 months of import cover, it reminds you of Gold-for-Reserves. This Gold-for-Reserves policy was initiated by the previous government and every Ghanaian knows that it is not new to us. The last time the governor of the Bank of Ghana spoke he said five different countries have come to Ghana following our Gold-for-Reserves policy to learn and understudy what we have done in the country. It is something novel that was introduced by Bawumia and the Bank of Ghana. He shouldn’t sweep it under the carpet and rebrand it and claim it as something new that has been done by this government,” he said.

Dr. Boako maintained that while reserve accumulation is prudent economic management, presenting the framework as a novel initiative misrepresents the origins of the policy.

 

Cabinet approves Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy