President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that the implementation of the gold-for-oil policy has significantly reduced forex pressures on bulk energy storage, transportation and bulk imports.
According to him, the policy helped the government negotiate more competitive premiums with suppliers.
While delivering the State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, February 27, the president said the policy has achieved the needed results and has led to a reduction in the prices of fuel at the pump.
“Mr Speaker, we have all heard about the Gold for Oil Programme. It has been explained, debated and talked about. At this moment, all I want to say about it is that the Gold for Oil Programme has worked well, and reduced significantly forex pressures on bulk energy storage, transportation and bulk imports, distribution and export companies, and enabled them to negotiate more competitive premiums with suppliers.
“Premiums dropped from one hundred and eighty to two hundred dollars per metric tonne ($180-200/MT) to seventy dollars per metric tonne ($70/MT) or less. This also resulted in reduced and stabilized prices at the pumps of between twelve to thirteen cedis (GH¢12-13) per litre for the whole of 2023,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo added “We are taking steps to rectify some of the handicaps that have limited the full participation of Ghanaians in the oil and gas industry. For years, the well-paid jobs in the industry were taken exclusively by foreign nationals, because we did not have people qualified in those fields.”
The policy introduced in November 2022, is to allow the government to pay for imported oil products with gold, in a direct barter with gold purchased by the central bank.
The move is an intervention to help stabilize prices of fuel products, as well as reduce pressure on Ghana’s foreign exchange, as the direct gold barter will be the mode of paying for imported oil instead of depleting the foreign exchange reserve.