News:
July 16, 2026
The Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has credited the success of Ghana’s “Gold for Reserves” program to structural reforms implemented by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, arguing that the previous administration’s framework failed to curb rampant smuggling.
Speaking to the media following accusation by the Minority to the effect that the Majority prevented the media from covering the Governor of the Bank of Ghana’s appearance to the House to answer questions because the Majority does not want to acknowledge Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia with the success of the Gold for Reserve program, Mr. Ayariga provided a detailed breakdown of the policy’s evolution, asserting that while the initiative was conceptualized under the New Patriotic Party (NPP), its recent success is due to institutional changes and tax incentives introduced by the current administration.
“When it started, it started under the NPP. But what was the result?” Ayariga questioned. He argued that the NPP’s version was ineffective due to two primary factors: taxation and a lack of regulatory exclusivity.
The MP highlighted that under the NPP, small-scale miners were taxed on gold sales to the state. This disincentive, he claimed, pushed producers toward the black market. “In the past, Gold for Reserves was there, but they were not getting the gold… So they were selling to smugglers,” he stated.
To illustrate the scale of the leakage, Ayariga pointed to discrepancies in trade data. “That’s how come at that time, UAE will record that we imported 100 tons of Gold from Ghana. But when you go to Bank of Ghana, Bank of Ghana records, so we exported 15 tons of Gold to the UAE. The 80% difference was accounted for through smugglers,” he explained.
According to Ayariga, the NDC government’s intervention turned the program around by taking two decisive steps:
- Tax Removal: The government scrapped the taxes levied on miners selling to the state. “NDC removed the tax. So that was what incentivized the miners to now run to the Governor with their Gold,” he said.
- Institutional Monopoly: The administration established the Gold Board (GoldBod) and passed legislation granting it a monopoly on gold purchases. “Under the NPP, anybody could buy the Gold… What made it successful is when we passed a law saying that only the Gold Board can buy the Gold,” Ayariga noted.
He concluded that these structural reforms — the removal of taxes and the prohibition of open-market buying—are the “real story” behind the success of the Gold for Reserves project, which aims to bolster the Bank of Ghana’s foreign currency reserves using locally produced gold.
Ghanamps.com