Dr Theo Acheampong, Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Finance, has underscored the crucial role of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) in channeling additional foreign currency into formal banking channels, a move he says has contributed significantly to stabilising the Ghanaian cedi.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Monday, January 5, Dr Acheampong explained that prior to recent policy measures, only a small portion of foreign exchange generated from the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector flowed into the formal banking system.

“…If you did a proper analysis, you would find that only about 20 to 30 per cent of ASM gold dollars were entering formal banking channels. But what is different now is that policy measures, particularly through GoldBod, are effectively bringing these dollars into the formal system and ultimately to the central bank. This is why it is extremely important,” he said.

Dr Acheampong argued that without the GoldBod-linked interventions, the cedi would have been in a significantly weaker position, even with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reforms in place. He suggested that, in the absence of GoldBod measures, the exchange rate would not have ended the year around GHS10.45–10.50, but at a much weaker level.

“If it was just the IMF reforms, the cedi would have been in a worse state. Instead of ending the year at around GHS10.45 or GHS10.50, it might have moved from GHS15 to about GHS13. This shows how critical GoldBod has been,” he explained.

To support his point, Dr Acheampong referenced the IMF’s own assessment of Ghana’s foreign exchange management, which noted that the Bank of Ghana has “taken an increasingly active role as an intermediary in the foreign exchange market, supported by stronger payment inflows.”

“The IMF report confirms this, stating that the domestic gold purchase programme has been a major source of inflows, alongside cocoa exports and repatriations. This clearly demonstrates GoldBod’s central role in stabilising the cedi,” he added.