Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has dismissed the flagship Gold-for-Oil policy introduced by the previous government as a failed and misleading initiative.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express just hours after presenting the 2025 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy to Parliament, the minister said there was no barter of gold for oil as claimed by officials of the past administration.

“It didn’t work properly. The Bank of Ghana were largely paying the suppliers of crude oil and petroleum products in cash. That was what they were doing. They never paid them with gold, never, never,” he said in response to a question on how the policy functioned in reality.

Dr. Forson, who served as Minority Leader when the policy was launched, insisted that the entire setup was nothing more than a conventional trade transaction.

“Actually someone sitting somewhere in the Emirates was supplying the Chamber Bulk Oil Distribution (CBOD). And then CBOD will be paying. They give the cedi to the BoG, and it pays the dollars. That’s it.

"Pure trade. Nothing more than what they were touting. It was far from what they were touting. There was no barter where gold was going to change for oil? No, nothing of the sort happened,” he stated firmly.

He clarified that people were confusing two different Bank of Ghana policies, one aimed at building gold reserves and the other, allegedly, to trade gold directly for oil.

“So BoG buys gold and keeps the gold. It is different from buying the gold, exporting the gold and bringing the Forex. I hear people comparing these two policies, but they are two different policies. It doesn’t mean the same,” he explained.

Asked why, if the gold was not traded for oil, the government continued to push the narrative of a successful barter system, Dr. Forson reiterated, “I’m not aware that there was a direct barter. There was no direct barter. I’m telling you for a fact, there was no barter.”

When asked what happened to the gold that was purchased, the minister said the central bank simply held on to it.

“Well, they were keeping the gold,” he said. “Oh yes, yes, I asked. They were keeping some gold. You could see that their gold reserves increase. That was a fact.

"They were keeping the gold that they were buying. The central bank was buying gold. They call it gold for reserves. There was no real barter. Nothing of the sort happened.”

Dr. Forson’s comments cast serious doubt on the claims made by former government officials that the Gold-for-Oil policy helped to stabilise the Ghanaian cedi in 2023.

Responding directly to those assertions, he maintained, “I’m telling you for a fact, there was no barter.”