The Executive Director of the Ghana Gold Expo Foundation, Dr. Stephen Ackah, has appealed to the government not to cancel the ‘Gold for Oil Programme’.
According to Dr. Ackah, while a review of the policy is necessary to address the challenges associated with the programme, cancelling it outright will not help stabilise fuel prices.
Speaking to Joy Business, Dr. Ackah stated that the ‘Gold for Oil Programme’ is crucial for addressing Ghana’s exchange rate challenges.
“I don’t think the government should end the ‘Gold for Oil Programme’ because it’s clear that it has potential. Recently, I was shocked when I received an email from the World Gold Council, informing me that Ghana has officially been published in it reserve programme,” he said.
He continued, “They also mentioned that Ghana is among the top five countries practicing the domestic purchase programme under the world gold initiative. In December, the Central Bank purchased one ton (1,000 kilos) of gold.”
Dr. Ackah further appealed to the government to reduce taxes within the extractive sector.
He emphasised that this would support key players in the sector to expand and create more job opportunities, particularly for the youth.
“It needs to be reduced. Gold is the real currency. Gold is the only asset that can hold or back the economy. So why add taxes to it? The Bank of Ghana says they want to hold foreign exchange (FX) to avoid excessive fluctuations in the dollar within Ghana,” Dr. Ackah added.
“Once the Bank of Ghana is holding the FX (foreign exchange), they don’t seem to care much about how much they want to buy gold because their biggest challenge is converting the cedi into dollars to import refined products and other commodities. So now, if I’m a miner, you’ve given me machines, and I’m selling gold to you, why are you taxing me? I’m bringing you the actual currency. The actual currency is gold,” he concluded.