Ghana’s newly appointed central bank governor, Johnson Asiama, has suspended the country’s gold-for-oil programme, citing confidence in the cedi’s stability following last year’s volatility.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Asiama emphasized the need for a balanced monetary policy alongside fiscal discipline under President John Mahama’s administration. “We intend to maintain an appropriate monetary policy stance,” he stated, adding that such measures would help stabilize foreign exchange markets.
Ghana’s interest rates currently stand at 27%, while inflation eased to 23.5% in January. Asiama expressed optimism that improved monetary and fiscal coordination would help curb inflationary pressures as the country recovers from its 2022 debt default. After securing a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and restructuring its debt, Ghana’s cedi—having depreciated by 19% against the US dollar in 2023—is expected to experience fewer extreme fluctuations.
The gold-for-oil programme, introduced by the previous government to counter currency instability, has been put on hold due to financial setbacks. The initiative allowed the central bank to purchase gold in local currency and use it to barter or buy oil.
“We have had to incur some losses on that,” Asiama admitted, without providing specific details. “So we’ve put some suspension” on the trade, he added.
Ghana’s oil import bill stood at $4.5 billion in 2024, with the central bank acquiring 65.4 tonnes of gold by September, of which 30.5 tonnes were added to its foreign reserves by year-end. Moving forward, Asiama indicated that the central bank might withdraw from gold procurement, transferring responsibilities to a soon-to-be-established Gold Board.
Since taking office on February 25, Asiama has prioritized addressing financial losses at the central bank. The institution reported a record overspending of 60.9 billion cedis ($3.9 billion) in 2022, largely due to loan write-downs required for the IMF bailout.
“I can tell you for sure that for this year, we’ll not see a loss occurring,” he assured, emphasizing measures to control operational costs and improve financial stability.
