National Chairman of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has claimed that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and countries that previously bought gold from Ghana are unhappy with the government’s gold-purchasing programme.

According to him, the programme is one of the government’s key policies for transforming Ghana’s economy and should not be undermined by controversies surrounding its implementation.

Speaking on Onua TV on Tuesday, September 1, Mr Asiedu Nketia said the initiative had attracted international attention, with other countries reportedly looking to Ghana as an example.

“One policy issue we have implemented which will help us as a country, we have put it into controversy, whereby our enemies who don’t want to see the progress of our country, which is our gold purchase programme,” he said.

The NDC Chairman suggested that countries that previously benefited from Ghana’s gold trade were uncomfortable with the new policy because it could alter the way the country’s gold resources are traded.

“Everywhere in the world, Ghana has been cited as a good example. Other countries who benefitted from that system which existed, they are not happy at all. Even the IMF is not happy about it,” he said.

Mr Asiedu Nketia did not provide specific evidence for his claim that the IMF and former gold-buying countries were unhappy with the programme.

He nonetheless maintained that the controversy should not result in the abandonment of the initiative, arguing that no policy or system could be expected to be perfect.

“I advise that where we have gotten to, other countries envy us. Not all systems are perfect,” he added.

He urged Ghanaians to assess the programme based on its broader economic objectives and argued that the international attention it has attracted demonstrates its potential significance.