The Minority has asserted that President John Dramani Mahama’s recent acknowledgment of Ghana’s $10.6 billion gross international reserves as of April 2025 confirms that the stability of the cedi is largely due to policies implemented by the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
It said a substantial $8.98 billion of the reserves was inherited from the NPP government, reinforcing their claim that the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration has not introduced any fundamentally new policies to stabilise the local currency.
In a statement signed and issued by Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Ranking Member of the Finance Committee on Monday, May 21, the Minority emphasised that the NDC government is merely benefiting from the strong macroeconomic buffers built under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration.
The Minority also pointed to Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson’s remarks on the GoldBod programme, which involves buying and selling gold for forex, as further evidence that the NDC relies on policies initiated by the previous government.
“The then Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia thought out of the box and saw that it was possible to keep our cedi strong and stable using Ghana’s gold, and that initiative is what the current government is relying on,” the statement read.
It further said the NPP government had aggressively built up Ghana’s gold reserves, increasing them from 8.78 tonnes in May 2023 to 30.53 tonnes by December 2024. These reserves served as the foundation for the Gold for Forex (G4FX) initiative, which was designed to stabilize the cedi.
The Minority raised concerns about inconsistencies in reported reserve data, questioning whether the Bank of Ghana (BoG) was engaging in unconventional forex operations or whether Goldbod was failing to fully transfer export proceeds to the central bank.
“If these earnings were properly repatriated to the BoG, reserves should be closer to $11.1 billion,” the statement argued, urging the BoG and Goldbod to reconcile these figures transparently.
“Despite the cedi’s appreciation, inflation has only marginally declined from 23% to 21% between January and April 2025. The Minority expects the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the BoG to significantly reduce the policy rate to ensure that currency stability translates into lower prices and affordable credit for Ghanaians.”
The caucus added that it “remains committed to holding the government accountable and ensuring that the gains earned through years of prudent policymaking are not eroded by short-term optics or indiscipline.”
info@businessghana.com
