Former Finance Minister Seth Terkper has attributed the recent strengthening of the cedi and growth in Ghana’s foreign reserves to reforms aimed at cleaning up the country’s gold marketing system.
Speaking on PM Express Business Edition, Mr Terkper joined ongoing discussions surrounding the financial performance of the Bank of Ghana, arguing that public debate should also acknowledge the economic gains generated through reforms in the gold sector.
According to him, one of the government’s key priorities was to rapidly rebuild Ghana’s external reserves, a move he said contributed directly to the recent appreciation of the local currency.
“One of the things was moving quickly to strengthen the reserves, which translated into the appreciation of the cedi,” he stated.
His comments come amid growing public scrutiny over the Bank of Ghana’s reported losses and concerns about their wider implications for the economy.
Mr Terkper, however, insisted that reforms in the gold trade had produced measurable benefits that deserved recognition.
“It’s the sanitisation of the marketing of gold,” he said, adding that although the process was not flawless, it had significantly improved oversight within the sector.
He explained that the reforms introduced greater order and control into a gold industry that had long experienced leakages and regulatory weaknesses.
“There’s some sanitisation of that whole sector, which led to a significant increase in reserves for the central bank,” he noted.
The former Finance Minister also placed Ghana’s gold industry within a broader global economic context, describing gold as one of the strongest alternatives to the US dollar in international finance.
“Globally, gold is the most aggressive competitor for the dollar, before you come to the euro, yen and others,” he stated.
He argued that Ghana’s status as a major gold-producing nation made it critical for authorities to tighten monitoring and management of the trade.
“Ghana is the Gold Coast,” he remarked.
Mr Terkper further claimed that for years much of Ghana’s gold output had benefited foreign economies instead of strengthening the country’s own financial position.
“Ghana’s gold was going all the way out to other countries, which they were using to stabilise their economy, from the Middle East to Europe to everywhere,” he said.
