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Swearing to be transparent, opposition leader John Dramani has promised to look into the government’s gold-for-oil program if he wins the presidency.
According to Mr Mahama, the arrangement is unclear and calls for a thorough investigation.
In an effort to counteract the cedi’s decline and the spike in gasoline prices, the government introduced the gold-for-oil agreement in 2021.
Reexamining the agreement was stressed by the head of the major opposition National Democratic Congress, who was speaking at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) in Sunyani at the 3rd Annual Transformational Dialogue on Small-scale Mining.
“We will investigate the opaque gold for oil programme and expose the actors benefiting from this so-called barter agreement. Reports reaching me suggest that a new debt burden is being created because Ghana has not been able to keep up with its delivery of gold under the programme” Mahama stated.
As part of measures to address Ghana’s falling foreign exchange reserves and the demand for dollars by oil importers—factors leading to the weakening of the Cedi and rising living expenses—Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia proposed the strategy in 2022.
As part of the G4O initiative, Ghana wants to trade gold for oil at a competitive price in order to stabilize the Cedi, reduce the impact of rising fuel costs, and address balance of payments problems.
More than 60,000 ounces of gold worth over $97 million had been acquired from nearby mines as of March 2023.
To meet around half of the nation’s monthly oil demand, the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) aims to purchase at least 160,000 ounces of gold, which is worth at over $300 million.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
