Goldstreet Editorial: Aurum – the aura of Ghana’s economy

As we all know, the glitter of gold can seldom be substituted or replicated. Gold is not only known for its ornamental value but is also known to play a very major role in a country’s economy.

As per the data from the World Gold Council, Ghana has been Africa’s largest and the world’s seventh largest producer of Gold as in 2019 with a production volume of 142.40 tonnes.

In fact industry majors such as AngloGold Ashanti and Gold fields have found a potential in Ghana as gold deposits are cheaper and easier to mine in the country.

Ghana’s mining and mineral department remains focused on gold, bearing testimony to the fact that gold contributes over 90% of the mineral exports of the country.

Gold is widely considered as an inflationary hedge. For instance, if a dollar loses its value due to inflation, the value of gold rises.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana is setting a model to sell the rights to most of the government’s bullion royalties. This is aimed at providing financial liquidity in the current situation against income from royalties.

This approach of curtailing the financial crunch is sowing the seeds of controversy among critics who are raising questions over the rushed and opaque process as well as the terms involved in the deal.

In reference to this, the ductility of time and malleability of the decision would matter significantly to Ghana’s government.