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0 Ghana’s new central bank governor, Dr. Johnson Asiama, has announced the suspension of the Gold-for-Oil program, a flagship initiative introduced under the Akufo-Addo administration to reduce reliance on foreign exchange for fuel imports.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, February 28, 2025, Dr. Asiama cited policy and operational challenges as reasons for putting the program on hold.
“We have had to incur some losses on that, so we have put some suspension on the trade,” he told Bloomberg.
The program was originally designed to stabilize domestic fuel prices by using gold instead of foreign currency to pay for petroleum imports. However, its implementation faced difficulties, leading to financial setbacks.
Dr. Asiama, who recently took over as Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), emphasized that his primary focus is on ensuring currency stability after the cedi’s volatility last year.
“We intend to maintain an appropriate monetary policy stance. Together with commitments to fiscal discipline under the administration of President John Mahama, this should help us maintain stability in the foreign exchange markets,” he stated.
Despite the suspension of the Gold-for-Oil initiative, Dr. Asiama assured stakeholders that the central bank remains committed to exploring alternative strategies to manage fuel prices and sustain economic stability.
His remarks signal a policy shift under the Mahama administration, prioritizing monetary discipline over experimental trade arrangements.
With Ghana facing ongoing economic challenges, analysts will closely watch how these new policies impact inflation, fuel prices, and exchange rate stability in the months ahead.
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