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Finance Minister outlines new gold policies to boost reserves and curb smuggling
Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has announced a set of policy measures aimed at strengthening Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves, improving gold sector governance, and reducing illegal mining and smuggling.
Presenting the policy directions in Parliament, he explained that government will revise the current arrangement under which the Bank of Ghana acquires 20 percent of large scale gold output.
He indicated that an Inter Agency Committee will be formed to ensure compliance by mining firms.
The committee, he noted, will be co chaired by the Ministers for Finance and Lands and Natural Resources, with membership drawn from the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, as well as the heads of the Minerals Commission and the Ghana Gold Board.
According to him, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources will invoke the state’s preemption rights under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 and the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 to purchase a minimum of 20 percent of gold produced by large scale mining companies.
He stated that this is expected to translate into at least 0.57 tonnes of gold per week.
He stressed that the gold purchased will be in doré form and processed locally to promote value addition.
Payments, he added, will be made in cedis at the prevailing interbank exchange rate, with discount rates determined by volume.
Dr.Forson further explained that the refined gold will eventually be added to Ghana’s physical reserves, and that any future sale by the central bank will require prior approval from Cabinet and Parliament.
He maintained that these measures will improve transparency, promote local refining, and reduce acquisition costs while ensuring that mining companies meet their obligations.
Turning to the artisanal and small scale mining sector, he stated that the Ghana Gold Board will adopt strategies to purchase at least 2.45 tonnes of gold weekly through official channels.
Over the next three years, he projected that the country could mobilise about 127 tonnes of gold annually from the sector, which at current prices could generate more than 20 billion dollars in foreign exchange each year.
To achieve this, he noted that the Gold Board will secure sufficient funds to sustain market participation and assume full responsibility for signing off take agreements and selling gold procured from the sector starting March 2026.
He added that the Board will introduce risk management tools, including gold backed derivative trading and hedging programmes, to reduce market losses.
Dr.Forson also pointed to price incentives and bonuses for licensed miners as part of efforts to discourage smuggling and encourage legal sales.
Beyond the gold sector, he outlined broader measures to improve foreign exchange inflows, including the expansion of non traditional exports such as cashew, shea, and rubber, as well as efforts to revive the cocoa sector.
He mentioned the development of new oil palm plantations and the acceleration of new oil field projects, including Pecan, to support export earnings.
The minister also addressed energy sector financing, noting that Ghana has historically spent about three billion dollars annually to cover shortfalls and payments to independent power producers.
He explained that the proposed Gas to Power Transformation Policy, which includes the construction of a state owned 1,200 megawatt power plant and a second gas processing facility, will help conserve foreign exchange.
Dr.Forson emphasised that maintaining fiscal discipline, particularly achieving a primary surplus, remains critical to slowing the depletion of the country’s reserves.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The 30th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Media Awards has celebrated three decades of recognising excellence and contributions to journalism and national development, while highlighting the media’s role in Ghana’s democracy.
Marking the milestone, Philip Osei Bonsu of the Multimedia Group emerged as the GJA/P.A.V. Ansah Journalist of the Year.
The Ghanaian Times’ Benedicta Gyimah Foley won the Best Feature Reporting, Print category, alongside other journalists recognised across various media platforms.
Other winners included Nathaniel Attoh, Best in Sports Reporting; and Godwin Asediba of Media General, Best in TV Documentary; Doreen Ampofo of GBC, Best in Radio Documentary; and freelance journalist Nii Adjei Mensahfio, Best in Online Documentary.
Daniel Kwabena Mantey was adjudged Best in TV Feature, while Clinton Yeboah of Luv FM won Best in Radio Feature, with Gilbert Azeem Tiroog of GNA taking Best in Online Features.
For news reporting, Mohammed Fugu of the Daily Graphic won Best in Print News Reporting, Nabil Ahmed Rufai, a freelance journalist, Best in TV News Reporting; Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman of EIB Network, Best in Radio News Reporting; and Timothy Ngnenbe of the Daily Graphic, Best in Online News.
The ceremony, held in Accra last Saturday on the theme, “Celebrating Excellence, Advancing Media Freedom and Combating Hate Speech in the Digital Age”, was attended by President John Dramani Mahama as the special guest of honour.
Also in attendance were the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno, among others.
In his address, President Mahama announced a GH₵10 million allocation in the 2027 national budget as seed capital for the reactivated Media Development Fund to support journalists’ welfare, professional development, investigative reporting and safety training, with additional corporate contributions expected.
Mr Mahama, also urged media practitioners to uphold professionalism and accuracy by avoiding sensationalism, unsubstantiated allegations and the deliberate pursuit of scandals, while promptly correcting inaccurate reports and apologising when necessary to maintain public trust and professional standards.
On journalists’ safety, he assured that the government would continue to act against attacks on them.
By Stephanie Birikorang
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Today, I focus on the theme of Ghanaian/African migrants in Finland and economic empowerment, a move away from the topic of personalities or groups and their accomplishments within the Ghanaian community in Finland that I have been writing on.
In recent times, African migrant associations and Finnish institutions are organising meetings or forums and help people seeking employment to meet employers or build professional networks to achieve economic empowerment.
Such forums are usually open to their members and anyone of African descent.to get into the Finnish job market.
Competences
Researchers and experts say entrepreneurship or self-employment has great potential to offer a route for migrants, including highly-educated ones, to participate in and contribute to the local economy.
Competences, including knowledge and knowhow, opportunities, and social capital such as family support, language, etc., are necessary to boost the entrepreneurship endeavour.
Competence in the official Finnish or Swedish languages is undoubtedly a key quality to improve employment prospects, especially for migrants since the overall unemployment among migrants could be higher than in the mainstream Finnish population.
There could also be particular privileges which may be the provision of the right information for potential entrepreneurs or job seekers.
Barriers and stress factors
Although language has a huge potential to contribute positively to entrepreneurship possibilities, studies have shown that some of the major stress factors are language problems, finances or economic capital among African migrants.
Other barriers or challenges may be how to grow the business venture or its sustainability.
Thus, migrant communities can generally be highly vulnerable to language barrier, lack of information, the nature of the work of migrants in professions where working from home is not possible.
Migrant associations, social networks, and information
By their activities, migrant associations are doing much to educate and create awareness as well as enhance economic empowerment through migrants’ entrepreneurship or self-employment and enhance opportunities.
Such associations and institutions become networks that create an important social capital as well as outlets for sharing and gaining information or knowledge. Also, it will all be for societal good if such activities are able to help reduce stress and anxiety in the migrants’ entrepreneurship endeavours.
As I keep pointing out, Finland is committed to the integration of migrants into the Finnish society. A number of research studies from surveys and other in-depth enquiries have shown a trend of increasing efforts to integrate African and other migrants into the Finnish society.
Public agencies, migrant associations and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Finland have been publishing information to help educate people, which is also good for their wellbeing.
Generally, migrant associations formally create awareness among their members and other migrants usually in collaboration with some Finnish institutions, and are thus an important tool for several migrants to be positively active and to get their interests and claims heard.
As I wrote previously, the role of migrant associations acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice is highly appreciated in Finland. Thank you!
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