Dr Gideon Boako, the Tano North MP and Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, has accused the government of merely rebranding a policy introduced by the former Vice President of Ghana, Mahamudu Bawumia.

His comments followed the unveiling of the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP), which seeks to build a financial buffer equivalent to 15 months of import cover by the end of 2028.

Presenting the policy to Parliament on Wednesday, Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson described GANRAP as a strategic shift away from what he termed the “unsustainable” practice of borrowing to shore up reserves.

Instead, he said, the government would leverage Ghana’s gold resources to strengthen gross international reserves and reduce reliance on external financing.

Dr Forson outlined an ambitious target of adding an average of US$9.5 billion annually to the country’s gross international reserves.

The plan involves the purchase of approximately 3.02 tonnes of gold per week, largely through the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD), which will acquire gold from the small-scale mining sector.

In addition, the state intends to invoke a pre-emptive right to purchase 20 per cent of output from large-scale mining companies as part of efforts to steadily build the reserve buffer.

Reacting on the floor of Parliament, Dr Boako insisted that GANRAP was essentially a rebranded version of the Gold for Reserves (G4R) policy introduced under Dr Bawumia.

“Gold 4 Reserves (G4R) rebranded as the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP),” he said.

He further remarked, “The God of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is great. They came to meet gold reserves of about 32 tonnes and they sold about half of it. When we raised alarm they said we should shut up. Today, they came to Parliament with a policy to accumulate more gold. What a government! Must you destroy before you build just because it was initiated by your predecessor? God of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.”