Data released by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) via its official social media channels underscored the substantial impact of the Gold Purchasing Scheme initiated by former Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

The programme, designed to bolster the nation’s gold reserves, was launched at the height of Ghana’s economic downturn.

The policy aimed to augment the Bank’s relatively modest gold reserves to strengthen the country’s foreign exchange holdings and help stabilise the depreciating local currency and escalating fuel prices.

It formed the backbone of the broader Gold for Oil initiative, which sought to leverage domestic gold assets in exchange for petroleum imports.

As envisioned by the then Vice-President, the scheme yielded significant results. BoG’s latest update, providing a month-by-month breakdown of additions to the national gold reserves since the programme’s inception in May 2023, indicates a marked increase in reserves before the change of government in January this year.

At the commencement of the scheme in May 2023, Ghana’s gold reserves stood at 8.78 tonnes. By December 2024, shortly before the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration exited office, reserves had surged to 30.53 tonnes—an increase of 21.75 tonnes within 18 months.

In comparison, under the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, only 2.45 tonnes have been added between January and June 2025, bringing the total to 32.99 tonnes.

BoG’s data indicates that of Ghana’s current gold reserves, 8.78 tonnes (26.6%) were accumulated since independence up to May 2023. The NPP administration, under Dr Bawumia, contributed 21.75 tonnes (66%), while the current NDC administration has added 2.46 tonnes (7.4%) within six months.

Notably, within the first six months of the scheme’s rollout alone, the BoG recorded an addition of 9.41 tonnes—demonstrating the programme’s early momentum and immediate impact.

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