The government has held a high-level engagement with large-scale mining companies to advance the implementation of the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP), signalling a critical phase in its strategy to build foreign exchange reserves through structured gold acquisition rather than costly external borrowing.
The meeting, co-chaired by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, brought together the leadership of large-scale mining firms, Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi, and officials from the Minerals Commission.
Dr Forson used the engagement to reinforce the government’s commitment to a consultative approach, stressing that GANRAP is not a hostile measure directed at industry. “This is a partnership. It is not anti-industry. It is pro-country,” he said, describing the discussions as constructive and reform-focused.
At the core of GANRAP is a weekly gold purchase target of approximately 3.02 tonnes. Of this, at least 2.45 tonnes will be procured from the artisanal and small-scale mining sector by GoldBod, while an additional minimum of 0.57 tonnes will be sourced through the state’s pre-emption rights on large-scale mining output, with transactions conducted in cedis at the prevailing interbank rate.
Ghana currently holds foreign reserves equivalent to 5.7 months of import cover. The policy sets targets of 8.6 months by end-2026, 11.8 months by end-2027, and 15 months by end-2028, requiring net annual additions of approximately US$9.5 billion to gross reserves.
The engagement with large-scale miners is therefore a pivotal operational step, as their gold output forms a mandatory component of the accumulation framework under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).
The Ministry of Finance has made the economic case for the gold-led approach explicit, noting that in 2025 alone, GoldBod generated approximately US$10 billion in foreign exchange at an operational cost of just US$214 million, compared to billions spent in interest payments on Eurobonds and currency swaps used for reserve-building between 2017 and 2024.
Dr Forson confirmed that under GANRAP, the government is undertaking targeted reforms to improve gold acquisition processes while strengthening regulatory oversight and compliance throughout the mining value chain. “Our focus is strengthening reserves and supporting a more stable cedi,” he said.
Gold acquired under the policy will be refined, added to Ghana’s physical reserves, and may only be sold with prior approval of Cabinet and Parliament.
The policy has also drawn scrutiny from the Minority in Parliament, with some lawmakers questioning whether GANRAP represents a genuine policy departure or a continuation of earlier reserve-building programs under a different name.
