President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed confidence in the ability of the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, to deliver on all the promises he made ahead of the 2024 general elections.
President Akufo-Addo said there was never any doubt that Dr Bawumia would fulfil his promises.
“I can honestly tell you that he (Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia) will deliver on every promise he has made,” he said at the launch of the NPP manifesto for 2024 in Takoradi on Sunday, August 18.
For his part, Dr. Bawumia stated that the next NPP government would stabilize the Ghana Cedi through the gold purchase program.
He explained that the two measures that helped save the economy from disaster during the recent crisis were the Bank of Ghana’s domestic gold purchase programme and the Gold for Oil (G4O) programme.
“I am happy to say that the two measures that helped rescue the economy from disaster during the recent crisis were the Bank of Ghana’s domestic gold purchase programme and the Gold for Oil (G4O) programme. The pilot scheme worked for a number of companies, some of which wanted to engage in foreign exchange transactions to repatriate their profits. So, we have found a solution to the problem of profit reparation without destabilising our national currency. This is also a great relief to foreign investors operating in our country. I believe that with the success of the pilot scheme, we can confidently say that we have found a solution to the age-old foreign exchange problem that successive governments have struggled to contain and which inevitably led to inflation and other macroeconomic challenges,” he explained.
The NPP politician pointed out that his government would fully institutionalise what he called the “gold-for-foreign exchange programme” while the country intensifies its efforts to transform Ghana’s economic structure.
“Simply put, the Domestic Gold Purchase Program (DGPP) is a policy that enables the Bank of Ghana to increase its foreign exchange reserves by purchasing locally produced gold using cedi. Gold purchases under this program alone have amounted to $5 billion in recent years. Ghana’s unexplored gold reserves are estimated at 5 billion ounces (and have a market value of $10 trillion today),” he stressed.
Dr. Bawumia said his government would expand the gold purchase program to meet all major foreign exchange needs.
“Simply put, if a company wants dollars, for example, we take its cedi, buy gold and give it dollars. In this situation, demand equals supply. The gold purchase program will therefore provide the anchor that our national currency has always lacked,” he explained.
