Bank of Ghana to scrutinize gold records

Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, has pledged to improve record-keeping at the Central Bank in relation to the country’s gold exports.

Dr Addison explained to BUSINESS GUIDE on Monday in Accra why Ghana, in 2016, recorded $2 billion as proceeds while records from the Gulf nation showed that Ghana exported $7 billion worth of gold during the period under review.

It would be recalled that President Akufo-Addo, during his recent encounter with the media, indicated that gold worth $5 billion exported from Ghana to Dubai could not be accounted for, raising concerns about the likely syphoning of funds.

He said authorities in Dubai had informed the Ghana government that they recorded a total of $7 billion worth of gold from Ghana in 2016.

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) is responsible for ensuring that proceeds from all gold exported from Ghana are repatriated into the country.

But Dr Addison told BUSINESS GUIDE that the development could be attributed to “poor” record keeping.

He argued that the recording of gold records at the Central Bank was not being properly done, hence the need to right the wrong.

“If these gold were taken out of the country without being recorded, how can you ensure the proceeds are recorded?” he quizzed.