Its been learned that the government's first shipment under the Gold for Oil Policy, intended to stop the cedi's depreciation against the main currencies, has arrived at the Tema Port and been dumped into the containers of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST).
Ghana's oil for gold exchange: 40,000 metric tonnes of gasoline were delivered following the policy
According to a source from Graphic Online, BOST would sell the 41,000 metric tonnes of petroleum products that SCF YENISEI provided to bulk distribution companies (BDCs) all over Ghana.
It was negotiated by the Economic Management Team, headed by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, and was valued at $40 million. The government planned to replace US dollars used to purchase oil products with gold in November 2022.
According to vice president Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the action addressed declining foreign exchange reserves and the demand for dollars from oil importers, weakening the local cedi and driving up living expenses.
Dr. Bawumia stated: "it will fundamentally alter our balance of payments and greatly lessen the ongoing devaluation of our currency."
He continued by saying that since domestic vendors would no longer require foreign exchange to import oil items, adopting gold would prevent the exchange rate from directly impacting the price of fuel or utilities.
The first shipment cost $40 million in gold, as reported. According to the source, BOST would sell the goods to the BDCs, and the money realized would go into an escrow account at the Bank of Ghana.
It would pay for the purchase of gold for the procedure. The ministries of energy, lands, and natural resources, as well as the governor of the Ghanaian central bank, the chamber of mines, the Precious Mineral Marketing Company (PMMC), and BOST, also contributed to the team's efforts to operationalize the change.
