GoldBod raked in additional $15bn in foreign exchange inflows - Ato Forson

Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has said the government's fiscal and external sector reforms, anchored by the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), generated an additional US$15 billion in foreign exchange inflows and significantly strengthened Ghana's external position.

Presenting the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review in Parliament on Thursday, July 23, 2026, the minister stated that the GoldBod initiative has become a key pillar of the government's broader macroeconomic stabilization agenda.

According to him, the reform complemented the country's inflation-targeting framework by supporting exchange rate stability, strengthening foreign reserves and improving confidence in the economy.

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"The third key transformational policy reform was the introduction of a complementary fiscal policy to support inflation targeting, ensuring exchange rate stability and building external resilience," Dr Forson told Parliament.

He explained that the creation of the Ghana Gold Board was aimed at curbing gold smuggling, formalising the gold trade and ensuring that a greater share of the country's mineral wealth benefits Ghanaians.

"Central to this reform was the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board to curb gold smuggling, formalize the gold trade, and ensure that a greater share of Ghana's mineral wealth benefits the Ghanaian people," he said.

The Finance Minister indicated that the intervention yielded substantial foreign exchange gains.

"Through this intervention, Ghana generated an additional US$15 billion in foreign exchange inflows, significantly strengthening reserve accumulation and supporting exchange rate stability," he stated.

Dr Forson further disclosed that the policy led to a marked improvement in Ghana's external accounts, with the current account surplus rising sharply within a year.

"This single policy measure improved Ghana's current account balance by 6.4 percentage points, from a surplus of 1.9 percent in 2024 to 8.3 percent in 2025," he said.

Describing the development as unprecedented, the minister added, "This represents a fourfold increase in the current account surplus in just one calendar year."

He stressed that the GoldBod initiative should not be viewed merely as a policy targeting the mining sector.

"This was not simply a gold policy. This was a macroeconomic stabilization policy designed to strengthen the cedi, build external buffers and restore confidence in the Ghanaian economy," Dr Forson stated.

To sustain the gains achieved so far, the Finance Minister announced that the government is implementing the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy.

According to him, the initiative seeks to raise Ghana's international reserves to the equivalent of 15 months of import cover by the end of 2028.

"To reinforce these gains, government developed and is implementing the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy with the objective of increasing Ghana's international reserves to the equivalent of 15 months of import cover by the end of 2028," he said.

GOLDBOD generated US$15 billion in foreign exchange from gold, significantly strengthening reserve accumulation and supporting exchange rate stability. GoldBod’s single policy measure improved Ghana’s current account balance by 6.4 percentage points, from a surplus of 1.9 percent… pic.twitter.com/hScJrQMD2u

— Ghana GOLDBOD (@GhanaGOLDBOD) July 24, 2026