Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, has attributed the $1.7 billion losses recorded by the Bank of Ghana to its decision to trade portions of the country’s gold reserves.
The former vice president argued that the financial setback could have been avoided.
Dr Bawumia consequently called for a return to what he considers the original objective of the Gold for Reserves programme, which was to accumulate gold and strengthen Ghana’s reserves rather than trade the commodity.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in Tokyo, Japan, Dr Bawumia argued that the losses resulted from the central bank’s decision to engage in gold trading instead of retaining the commodity as part of the country’s reserves.
According to Dr Bawumia, adopting his preferred approach of building up Ghana’s gold reserves would have prevented the financial losses.
“If they had followed the way that we had wanted to do the Gold for Reserves programme in terms of accumulating reserves, those losses would not have been made. But once you decide to start trading in gold, you will make those losses,” he said.
The former Vice President also defended his focus on digitalisation during the 2024 general election campaign, dismissing suggestions that he had failed to adequately address issues concerning the economy.
Dr Bawumia argued that digital technology had become a fundamental driver of the global economy and warned that countries that fail to develop robust digital infrastructure risk being left behind in the increasingly technology-driven world.
“Many people don’t understand that the world economy is now digital. The world economy is digital. If you don’t go digital, you cannot prosper in this global economy. You cannot. And if you don’t take your time and put your digital framework together, you’ll be left behind,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kofi Bentil, a Lawyer and Senior Vice-President of IMANI Africa, has said the establishment and operations of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) are the best thing that happened to Ghana’s gold resources.
He argued that GoldBod represented an improvement over an earlier arrangement under which the Bank of Ghana (BoG) was directly involved in gold trading.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Kofi Bentil stated, “GoldBod is the best we’ve done so far, but it is not perfect. At that time, it was the Bank of Ghana that was trading gold through GoldBod”.
“The losses belonged on the books of Bank of Ghana. They created problems for the Bank of Ghana, and we said that wasn’t a good thing to do,” he explained.
He noted, “Today as we speak, there is a transition from that position for GoldBod to have its own capital, to do its own buying, to do its own trading, and keep the losses or the benefits on its own books”.
Mr Bentil further rejected claims that the establishment of GoldBod was itself a policy mistake.
“Anybody trying to suggest that GoldBod is a mistake is wrong. GoldBod is the best we have done with our gold resources yet,” he added.
He further added, “We should always keep the bigger picture in mind; GoldBod is a fantastic idea; it does not make sense that we are a gold mining country and we are mer in these losses.
GoldBod is a fantastic idea; whatever happens, we must keep it. However, every good thing comes with its issues, and we must navigate them properly. The biggest problem right now is the heat coming out of the discussion.
Kofi Bentil further added, “For the first time in the history of this country, we have taken charge of Gold resources, and we are seeing the positive that can happen.
We cannot pretend that it will not come with any problem. My problem with the GoldBod is the heat instead of the light. We should be having an explanation; we should be having clarity about how this thing works and fix some of the problems around it. The idea was not even from this government, but they have taken it further”.
Watch the video below:
NPP flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has held a town hall meeting with Ghanaians in Japan, where he raised concerns about what he described as the poor management of certain aspects of the Ghanaian economy. He also addressed the alleged losses recorded by GoldBod, arguing that they could have been avoided if the government had followed the procedures established by the previous administration for the gold reserves initiative. [🎥: Metro TV]
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