Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram and Minority spokesperson on Parliament’s Communications Committee, Samuel Nartey George, has condemned the government’s “Gold for Oil” initiative.

According to Sam George, the project is irrelevant as the government is yet to understand the ins and outs of the deal.

He asserted that Dr. Bawumia has taken the country back to the Stone Age (1960s).

In November 2022, the government announced that it would negotiate a gold for oil barter deal to address the country’s “dwindling foreign exchange reserves.”

This was disclosed by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on his Facebook page.

The initiative, according to Dr. Bawumia, is to address the challenge of the hikes in fuel prices by using “our gold” (rather than our US dollar reserves) to buy oil products.

Mr. George said the government is reintroducing the barter trade system, which was abolished many years ago.

Since the initiative was envisioned by Dr. Bawumia, he said, “The man (Dr. Bawumia) has sent us back to the age of the Flintstone, and you say we should celebrate him.”

However, the MP believes that the agreement will never strengthen the cedi as the government portrays.

Meanwhile, explaining his point to Roselyn Felli on Prime Morning, he said, “Are we paying for the gold with cowries? The gold that we’re using to buy, we’re buying from the mining companies. Let us see what the facts are. How are you paying the mining companies? We know the mining companies sell their gold in dollars. So, are you (the BoG) using our foreign reserve dollar to buy the gold locally, or are you using cedi to buy the gold? We don’t know.”

If the government is to pay in dollars, “it’s dead on arrival,” he said.

The MP also disputed the government’s assurance that the gold-for-oil deal will aid in providing cheaper fuel, saying “it’s a lie.”