NPP’s gold reserve policy laid foundation for Ghana’s economic stability – Kabiru Tia – Nsemkeka
Member of the Finance Committee, and MP for Walewale, Kabiru Tia Mahama, has attributed Ghana’s recent macroeconomic stability to policies initiated under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, particularly the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
Speaking on JoyFM’s Top Story on Tuesday, May 20, Mr Mahama contested the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government’s narrative that it inherited a mismanaged economy.
He explained that key economic indicators, such as declining inflation rates and a current account surplus, pointed to a recovering economy at the time the NPP left office.
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“Inflation was on a downward trend, decreasing from a peak of 54% to 28% and then to 35%, which was significant,” he noted.
“Additionally, the current account recorded a surplus, indicating that our exports exceeded imports, leading to more foreign exchange inflows.”
Mr Mahama highlighted the NPP’s implementation of the gold purchase program as a pivotal policy that bolstered Ghana’s gold reserves.
He stated that under this initiative, the Precious Minerals Marketing Company was tasked with purchasing 20 per cent of gold mined by large-scale producers and all gold produced by small-scale miners.
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The Walawale MP stated that this move aimed to curb gold smuggling and enhance the country’s gold reserves.
“We increased our gold reserves from approximately 8 tonnes since independence to over 30 tonnes by the time the NPP government was leaving office,” Mr Mahama stated.
“This policy, initiated by the NPP, laid the foundation for the current economic stability.”
As of April 2025, the Bank of Ghana’s gold reserves have surged to 31.37 tonnes, up from 8.78 tonnes in May 2023, marking a 264.4 per cent increase over two years.
This growth is attributed to the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, which allows the central bank to buy domestically produced gold using local currency at prevailing market prices.
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The program’s success has also been bolstered by agreements with nine additional mining companies, including Golden Team Mining and Adamus Resources, to supply 20 per cent of their gold output to the government.
These purchases are settled in Ghanaian cedis at a 1 pe cent discount to the London Bullion Market Association spot price, further strengthening the nation’s foreign reserves and stabilizing the cedi.
Mr Mahama asserted that the NPP’s policies, particularly the gold reserve initiative, have been instrumental in achieving the current macroeconomic stability.
He urged the current administration to acknowledge and build upon these foundations.