Gov't Targets US$3bn Forex Savings From Gold-Oil Barter Policy | General News

Dr. Bawumia said the barter policy is to correct a problem in the economy, contrary to claims that government is against the use of United States dollars in international transactions.

“We are not on any mission against use of the United States dollar in international transactions. In fact, we want to accumulate more dollars in our reserves.

“We have a specific issue to deal with – oil import and the nexus between those oil imports and the price of fuel, transport, food and utilities – and that is essentially what we are targeting by exchanging our gold for oil,” he clarified.

Most importantly, the move is to insulate domestic industries from persistent depreciation of the cedi – which also affects the cost of doing business and cost of living.

The domestic currency has depreciated by over 53 percent this year, one of its worst performances in history.

With a more stable exchange rate and microeconomic environment, he said: “There are many products that we are importing which we have the capacity to produce in Ghana”.

Meanwhile, president of AGI Humphrey Ayim-Darke said exchange rate volatility remains a major headache for businesses.

“Exchange rate losses continue to rise, and we can only hope that the measures being put in place will give us a glimmer of hope and some recovery within next year.

“While we acknowledge that a number of the current challenges emanate from external shocks over which we have little control, we urge government to expedite the announced measures so we can all smile again,” he advocated.

AGI Ghana Industry and Quality Awards

Organized by the Association of Ghana Industries in partnership with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ghana Standards Authority, the annual awards ceremony is designed to recognize excellence and innovation in the country's manufacturing sector.

This year's event, themed 'Leveraging public-private collaborations to facilitate business recovery', saw Kasapreko Company Limited walk away with the coveted Industrial Company of the Year award.