The Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has submitted for consideration before Parliament the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP) — a bold and deliberate national strategy to strengthen our external reserves and secure Ghana’s economic future.
According to the minister, the policy sets out a clear roadmap to increase our international reserves to the equivalent of 15 months of import cover by 2028.
He stated that the move marks a decisive shift away from costly borrowing and short-term measures toward a structured, gold-backed and reform-driven framework that strengthens Ghana’s resilience against global shocks.
In his remarks, he explained that the primary objective of the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy is to increase Ghana’s international reserves to fifteen (15) months of import cover by end‑2028 to support long‑term structural transformation while safeguarding macroeconomic stability.
To achieve its target, Ghana aims to increase its import cover to 8.6 months by end-2026, 11.8 months by end-2027, and 15 months by end-2028.
Key milestones include accumulating 3.1 months of import cover annually, requiring $9.5 billion in annual reserve additions. Ghana targets purchasing 3.02 tonnes of gold weekly, with the Ghana Gold Board acquiring 2.45 tonnes from artisanal miners and 0.57 tonnes from large-scale miners.
The strategy will be reviewed annually based on imports, prices, production volumes, and financing conditions.
Gold Acquisition and Local Value Addition
He disclosed that the government will mandate the purchase of at least 20% of large-scale gold output (approximately 0.57 tonnes weekly) to be paid for in local currency.
This gold must be processed by local refineries before being added to national physical reserves. This initiative, overseen by a new Inter-Agency Committee, aims to enforce mining commitments, reduce acquisition costs, and support local refineries in achieving international certification standards.
To bolster foreign exchange, the Ghana Gold Board aims to recover approximately 127 tonnes of ASM gold annually, targeting over $20 billion in revenue. Key measures include providing continuous funding for purchases, implementing price incentives to discourage smuggling, and deploying hedging strategies to manage market risks.
Additionally, the government will intensify crackdowns on illegal mining in water bodies and forest reserves while promoting land reclamation and formalisation within the sector.
Aside from the gold, the government is implementing broader reforms to expand foreign exchange inflows and reduce outflows, such as scaling up non-traditional exports and recovering the cocoa sector.
A major focus is the “Gas-to-Power” policy, intended to save $3 billion annually by reducing energy sector shortfalls through new state-owned infrastructure.
In addition to providing a more cost-effective framework, the Ghana Gold Board has acted as a primary catalyst for restoring macroeconomic stability across the nation.
Throughout 2025, the model facilitated a robust accumulation of international reserves and drove a historic appreciation of the cedi. These efforts contributed to a significant cooling of inflation and a marked improvement in Ghana’s debt sustainability.
He added that the board’s activities generated substantial savings regarding the government’s external obligations, specifically reducing the burden of interest costs, amortisation, and payments to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
These high-level economic gains have filtered down to provide meaningful relief to both the private sector and the general public. By stabilising the broader economy, the model successfully triggered a downward trend in fuel and food prices, while simultaneously lowering the cost of doing business and the overall cost of living for Ghanaian households.
The Benefits
To manage the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy, the government is adopting a proactive risk management strategy that addresses price volatility through hedging, production concerns via modernisation, and governance through independent audits.
Furthermore, environmental and social risks will be tackled by enforcing anti-illegal mining laws and promoting community engagement.
Dr Forson stated that the structured framework aims to transform the mining sector into a stable, transparent pillar of macroeconomic stability, with the goal of achieving fifteen months of import cover by 2028.
He stressed that the policy is designed to build a national “economic war chest” that protects against global shocks, sustains economic gains, and secures long-term prosperity for future generations of Ghanaians.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
