Ghana’s central bank has successfully rebuilt its foreign reserves to the equivalent of four and a half months of import cover after they were nearly exhausted during the 2022 economic crisis, Governor Johnson Asiama said on Thursday.
He credited the recovery to a newly established state-run gold trading body that has helped curb foreign-exchange leakages, according to Reuters.
Speaking at an event during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Washington, Asiama explained that the GoldBod, created in March, has generated about $8 billion by centralizing the purchase and export of gold.
This mechanism ensures that foreign currency earnings from gold exports are repatriated to Ghana.
“It’s like a revolving kind of fund that we operate,” he said. “And I think so far it’s been complementary, helping us to build our reserves.”
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Asiama noted that the Bank of Ghana continues to receive bullion directly from large mining companies under existing arrangements, which has further strengthened its holdings.
This marks a major shift from the previous year, when private traders dominated gold exports and much of the foreign exchange earnings failed to enter the domestic banking system.
The governor also revealed that Ghana plans to regulate cryptocurrencies before the end of the year under a new bill developed with assistance from the IMF.
The proposed legislation, currently before parliament, will empower the central bank to license and oversee virtual asset activities.
According to Asiama, the move comes after remittance flows increasingly shifted through stablecoins and informal crypto channels.
He added that broader legislative reforms are being designed to reinforce the central bank’s independence and repair its balance sheet following the domestic debt restructuring.
Efforts are also underway, he said, to re-list more banks and revitalize Ghana’s capital markets.
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Image Credit: Reuters
