Ghana is fundamentally restructuring how it builds and manages its international reserves, abandoning a long-standing dependence on expensive external borrowing in favour of a gold-backed accumulation model anchored in domestic resources.
Unveiling the new approach in Parliament, the Minister for Finance, Dr. Ato Forson, said the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP) is designed to deliver a more cost-effective, sustainable and self-reliant framework for strengthening the country’s external buffers.
According to him, past reserve accumulation strategies—largely driven by Eurobond issuances, currency swaps and seasonal cocoa inflows have exposed the economy to volatile international capital markets while significantly increasing debt service obligations. “Gold-backed reserve accumulation is cost-effective and sustainable,” Dr. Forson told Parliament, stressing that borrowing to build reserves has proven fiscally damaging over time.
Costly legacy of debt-driven reserves
For nearly a decade, Ghana pursued what the Finance Minister described as “episodic accumulation,” often tied to opportunistic external borrowing. Between 2017 and 2024, the Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance raised about US$21.7 billion to shore up reserves through Eurobonds and currency swaps.
That strategy, however, came at a steep cost. Over the same period, interest payments amounted to US$3.84 billion and an additional GH¢7.3 billion, underscoring what Dr. Forson characterised as an unsustainable cycle. “Borrowing to support reserve accumulation inevitably leads to debt overhang,” he warned, noting that the approach weakened fiscal space rather than strengthening economic resilience.
Gold as a strategic alternative
Under GANRAP, Ghana will now prioritise the acquisition of domestically sourced gold through the Ghana Gold Board, positioning the mineral as a central pillar of reserve accumulation.
The results so far point to significant efficiency gains. In 2025, the Gold Board generated approximately US$10 billion in foreign exchange at an operational cost of about US$214 million. Dr. Forson noted that achieving the same reserve build-up through external borrowing would have required yields of around 8.0 per cent on the international capital market—costs that would ultimately be borne by taxpayers.
By capitalising on favourable global gold prices, the government expects to build what the Finance Minister described as an “economic war-chest” without compounding debt or exposing the economy to sudden reversals in global investor sentiment.
