Former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has been highly commended for introducing the Gold for Reserves programme at the Bank of Ghana.

At the height of the global economic crisis that devastated the Ghanaian economy and triggered a free fall of the cedi, then Vice President Dr Bawumia proposed the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme for the Bank of Ghana. A key component of this initiative is the Gold for Reserves policy, which uses gold to purchase foreign currency rather than relying on excessive borrowing, thereby helping to stabilise the cedi.

The Bawumia proposal recorded an immediate impact under the previous government. The cedi, which had hitherto fallen to nearly GH₵17 to the US dollar, strengthened to about GH₵14 and began to experience gradual stability. Fuel prices also declined, largely due to reduced pressure on the foreign exchange market.

Following the continued success of the programme under the new administration, economic policy analyst Senyo Hosi, speaking on Joy FM’s Newsfile earlier today, said the former Vice President deserves commendation for conceiving such an impactful policy.

“I commend Bawumia because I know he is the brainchild of this entire Gold for Reserves initiative,” Senyo Hosi said.
“He is the brain behind it, and we must commend that effort.”

Prior to the introduction of the policy, Ghana’s total gold reserves stood at about eight tonnes. However, by the time the government changed hands in January 2025, the country’s gold reserves had increased significantly to over 30 tonnes.

Senyo Hosi’s comments on Newsfile follow a recent interview in which he stated that Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme played a decisive role in strengthening the cedi beyond IMF projections in 2025.

Similarly, in a recent interview with Joy News, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Asiama, praised the gold purchasing programme and acknowledged its significant contribution to Ghana’s improved gold reserves, as well as its positive impact on the stability of the local currency.