New Patriotic Party flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has clarified that his proposal to anchor the cedi with gold is intended to support the foreign exchange (forex) sector, not to peg the cedi’s value to gold, as some media reports have suggested.
During his campaign in the Ablekuma West constituency, Dr. Bawumia explained that the policy aims to tackle the ongoing forex shortage, a major factor in the cedi’s depreciation.
He emphasized that the strategy is designed to stabilize the cedi by using the country’s gold reserves to bolster the forex market.
Dr. Bawumia stated, “Many news organizations are misreporting internationally, thinking I am pegging the cedi’s value to gold.
No! What I am proposing is that if you bring your cedis, we will buy the gold and provide you with forex. It’s that simple and not complicated. We will stabilize our cedis by anchoring them to gold.”
Additionally, Dr. Bawumia highlighted that the gold-for-oil policy is fulfilling its objective, noting that the Bank of Ghana has purchased $5 billion worth of gold.
He contrasted this with the total IMF deal of $3 billion and argued that without this policy, Ghana would face severe fuel shortages due to forex access challenges.
