Officials of the bank of Ghana have revealed that the value of gold export from Ghana for the first half of 2024 increased to $5 billion as against the $3.5 billion recorded the previous year.
They noted that Banks of Ghana’s Gold Reserve policy and Goil for Oil policies have proven useful in this regard.
‘‘As of the first half, we exported 5 billion dollars’ worth of gold. Last year, it was 3.5 billion dollars,’’ they surmised
They noted that the Gold reserve and Goil for oil policies, which have promoted BOG’s local purchases of the commodity, have served to curtail the perennial challenge with gold smuggling in the country.
According to them, these policies have created invaluable impact in Ghana’s efforts to build strategic gold reserves.
They observed that since the commencement of the Gold Reserve policy in July 2021, Ghana’s gold reserve has increased from 8.7 tonnes to 25 tonnes, making it a major gold reserve hub among its African contemporaries.
In their estimation, the program has also proven valuable to the gold for oil program, that has served to shield the country against the exchange rate’s impact on petroleum price build up.
These were reveled during an audit query by the Public Accounts Committee of parliament, on Friday, July 26, 2024.
They reckoned that the trend continued, Ghana could be one of the highest gold suppliers in the whole of Africa
They noted that because the commodity was being locally purchased at the same international market price, the incentive for people to smuggle gold has been drastically reduced.