Dr. Tiah Abdul-Kabiru Mahama, Member of Parliament for Walewale and former Economic Advisor to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has clarified that the Akufo-Addo administration’s limited use of Ghana’s gold reserves to support the local currency was due to restrictions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Ghana is currently under an IMF-supported programme aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and addressing fiscal challenges.Speaking on The Point of View on Channel One TV on Wednesday, May 21, with Bernard Avle, Dr. Abdul-Kabiru said the IMF’s programme conditions capped the government’s monthly use of foreign reserves, which include gold, at $80 million.
He noted that the monthly limit was later reduced to $60 million before being lifted entirely after a programme review.
“There was one reason the government [Akufo-Addo administration] couldn’t deploy fully the [gold] reserves to buy the currency. The IMF conditionalities capped it at $80 million per month. The gold reserves are part of the foreign reserves. We were supposed to have three months of import cover as part of the conditionalities.
“If you’re building the reserves to meet that particular threshold, you cannot be seen depleting them. It got to a point that it was even reduced to $60 million per month, which we could liquidate. Until after the review programme, they lifted that conditionality,” he explained.
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