GoldBod Measures Key to Cedi Stability, Says Finance Ministry Advisor
Dr. Theo Acheampong, Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Finance, has emphasised the role of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) in redirecting additional foreign exchange into the formal financial system, a process he says has contributed significantly to the recent stability of the cedi.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View, Dr. Acheampong explained that before the implementation of current policy measures, a large share of foreign currency earnings from the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector failed to pass through regulated banking channels.
He noted that detailed analysis would suggest that only about 20 to 30 per cent of gold-related dollar inflows from the ASM sector were previously captured within the formal banking system.
According to him, the current approach represents a fundamental shift, as policy tools are now being used to compel gold export proceeds to flow through GoldBod and, ultimately, into the coffers of the Bank of Ghana.
“This time around, policy is being used to ensure that those dollars are brought into the formal system through GoldBod and eventually to the central bank, and that is what makes the difference,” he observed.
Dr. Acheampong further argued that Ghana’s exchange rate performance would have been far weaker if authorities had depended only on measures under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, without the additional support provided by the GoldBod framework.
He said that without these gold-backed interventions, the cedi would not have ended the year at around GHS10.45 or GHS10.50 to the US dollar, but would have depreciated to a much lower level.
“If we were relying solely on IMF reforms, the cedi would have been in a far more difficult position. The exchange rate would not have closed the year at GHS10.45 or GHS10.5; it could have weakened from GHS15 to around GHS13,” he stated.
To reinforce his argument, Dr. Acheampong pointed to the IMF’s own evaluation of Ghana’s foreign exchange operations, which acknowledges a more assertive role by the Bank of Ghana in the FX market.
He quoted the Fund as noting that the central bank has become increasingly active as an intermediary in the foreign exchange market, supported by stronger balance of payments inflows.
According to Dr. Acheampong, the IMF identified the domestic gold purchase programme as a major source of these inflows, alongside cocoa earnings and foreign exchange repatriation, underscoring the growing importance of GoldBod in Ghana’s currency management strategy.
