Gold reserves appreciating the cedi is a neocolonialists education mindset argument supported only by the history of how currency was created through the Moravians’ currency notes of purchases.
The central banks of nations’ ability to print their respective currencies have annulled this phenomenon of gold reserves shoring up currencies.
The cedi appreciating is more to do with Goldbod purchases, fiscal discipline, trust by business community, and good leadership. The bottomline economic reality had to do with the demand and supply of USD as against the cedi.
The dollar appreciated remarkably in 2022 when cedi was printed to purchase the dollars to the extent that ORAL has still not unravelled. The GHS60B that was lost at BOG is a typical corruption induced scarcity of the USD.
What sustained the cedi a bit was when JOY, the 2012&2016 INDEPENDENT Presidential Candidate, muted the Gold-4-Oil idea but was super incompentently and corruption-driven implemented by the Nana-Bawumia government of the NPP. The NPP failed to see that both Gold and Oil are two strong economic markets with peculiar dynamics that should be competently managed.
Goldbod has purchased $2.73B worth of gold with cedis and exported to gain dollars from Jan-Apr 2025. This is more than what was done in 2023 and more than half of 2024. This is the game changer. In terms of cedi appreciation, it means Goldbod has aporeciated the cedi more than what was done in 2023 and half of what was done in 2024 within four months.
If you are still not convinced by the Goldbod magic wand, follow the trend of the cedi stabilisation anytime there’s a meagre flow of IMF bailout dollars into the Ghanaian economy Goldbod has only tackled the midstream benefits of gold businesses with refineries and gold purchases.
When Goldbod moves to implement the downstream value addition of jewellery with ancient craftmanship and Gold Coast touch, the multiplier effect of benefits will be more than twenty times (20X) when linked to tourism to Ghana and Gold Coast jewellery outlets in key gold jewellery loving nations and developed economies.
The neocolonialists’ economic mindset analysis failed to see that America had pitched the USD as a competing commodity for international trading, creating scarcity of supplies to appreciate the USD.
We need to replicate the Goldbod in other key sectors of the economy. We need to recreate Cocoabod like the Goldbod fit for purpose. We need to create Petrobod by NPA, Cashewbod, pineapplebod, Yambod, timberbod, bauxitebod, etc, with the view to circumventing USD as a commodity for trade.
What gold reserves can do for the nation is to help the nation access loans at highly competitive low rates by using the reserve as a collateral. This can help Ghana to obtain new loans at lower rates to repay old loans at higher rates so as to reduce the level of debt servicing.
This was the essence of the rationale the rhetoric Ghana Beyond Aid mantra, which was to use the untapped mineral resources as a collateral for Ghana to obtain soft loans for accelerated development. But again, the men that NPP boasted could not help the nation, but we became shamelessly begging IMF.
The other key challenge had to do with expanding the revenue generation through prudent decentralisation. The JDM 2 should honour the effort of Uncle Kwamena Ahwoi “Baby Decentralisation” effort with competent implementation of NIA DIGITILISATION.
Hon. Julius Debrah, Eric Opoku, and Akwasi Oppong Fosu and H.E. JDM all know that Bawumia and NPP could not implement the NIA and digitalisation as a decentralisation, internal revenue generation, and National Development planning tool for the nation.
I do not know what Hon. Julius Debrah and NDC are afraid to tell Ghanaians that Bawumia digitalisation is a failure, and the only little success is the mobile money transactions.
The full benefit of digitalisation witnessed in Germany by Hon Julius Debrah and Eric Opoku has not been achieved due to the fact that we still do not have an intelligent addressing system, we can not at a click of a button know the number of professionals and skill sets and where they are in Ghana. If Bawumia digitalisation is successful, a car crossing a red light should automatically receive a penalty ticket.
This is the rule of thumb of a successful implementation of digitalisation economy by any developed nation. Not the Bawumi implementation which will burden the police and the media to ask drivers to report.
The Goldbod little tweak that needs to be considered is how to allow Ghanaians who have gold in their possessions to sell directly to Goldbod without going through certified buyers or bordered to have Goldbod buyers’ license.
The same is needed for cocoa farmers to have direct access to Cocoabod to sell their beans without going through any buyers. This will reduce smuggling and will reinforce the policy rationale to support Ghanaians.
JDM and NDC should revisit the competent implementation of NIA as a national development and planning tool. Replicate the successful implementation of Goldbod, and each BOD created should move to the downstream value addition.
By JACOB OSEI YEBOAH (JOY), 2012&2016 INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
