The Gold-for-Oil initiative has been suspended by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), which attributed the decision to operational and policy issues that resulted in losses.
The program, which aimed to stabilize domestic fuel costs and lessen dependency on foreign exchange for fuel imports, has been temporarily put on hold while the Central Bank reviews its economic policies.
BoG Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama acknowledged the setbacks in a Bloomberg interview, saying, “We have had to incur some losses on that, so we have put some suspension on the trade.”
The decision fits with a larger policy shift under the new administration, even though Dr. Asiama did not go into detail about the particular difficulties.
He is nevertheless upbeat about Ghana’s economic prospects despite the program’s suspension, especially the stability of the cedi, which saw a lot of 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 assured.
