A call to Ghanaians to buy gold coins is a call to abandon the cedi; it’s a wrong call – Dr. John Kwakye

The Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Dr. John Kwabena Kwakye has kicked against the decision by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to roll out the Ghana Gold Coin (GGC).

According to the Central Bank, the issuance of the Ghana Gold Coin launched in September is a testament to its commitment to innovation, deepening of its financial markets and providing more avenues for residents to invest in Ghana.

A release from BoG after the launch said the GGC issuance enables it to mop up extra cedi liquidity in the banking sector and will supplement the use of the Bank of Ghana Bills and overnight depo for its open market operations.

Ghanaians are now being urged to choose the Ghana Gold Coin as their preferred investment instead of buying and saving dollars.

Reacting to the development, Dr. John Kwakye has argued that the move by the Bank of Ghana is wrong.

He holds the view that instead of urging Ghanaians to buy gold coins, Ghanaians should rather be encouraged to hold onto the Ghanaian cedi.

“A call to Ghanaians to buy gold coins is a call to abandon the cedi. It is a wrong call. Ghanaians should rather be encouraged to hold the cedi. This can be achieved by stabilising the cedi. And that's not rocket science,” Dr. John Kwakye said in a post on X.

The Ghana Gold Coin according to Bank of Ghana gives savers resident in Ghana an additional avenue to invest and reap the benefits from the Bank of Ghana's domestic gold purchase program.