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Ghana heading towards debt crisis with ‘lazy’ gold for oil policy – John Jinapor

  • SOURCE: citi newsroom.com | qwesa2big
    • POSTED ON: January 18, 2023
    • CATEGORY:

    The
    Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu constituency, John Jinapor believes the
    country is heading towards a debt crisis following the commencement of the
    gold-for-oil policy.

    Speaking
    on Eyewitness News, with Host Umaru Sanda, Mr. Jinapor predicted that, “I’m
    not a prophet of doom, but from all the documents I have read, we are heading
    for a debt crisis out of this so-called gold for oil deal”
    he stated.

    According
    to the legislator, this move by government to tackle dwindling foreign currency
    reserves coupled with the demand for dollars by oil importers is a lazy man’s
    approach, because gold, first of all, needs to be expressed in its monetary
    value.

    You
    can’t just say take an ounce of gold and give me a barrel of oil, as it used to
    be in the real barter that you are talking about. You must first of all, value
    that gold in dollar terms, and that is the function of currency or money”

    he added.

    The
    former Deputy Power Minister also accused government of deceiving the citizens
    of getting cheaper oil.

    “Where
    is that cheaper oil? Let’s assume you don’t want your currency to depreciate,
    that is not the same as buying cheaper oil. Cheaper oil means that oil is
    GH¢100, and I’m getting it at GH¢90 or GH¢80, that is what we say is cheaper
    oil. If you are doing this to manage your currency, if you are saying Ghana we
    are so broke that our reserves are depleted, and so we don’t have enough
    dollars to buy crude, so we are using gold as a backup so that we can buy crude,
    it is a different matter. Be honest and sincere, don’t tell us that you are
    going to get cheaper crude or cheaper finishing products, that is not the
    situation,” the legislator fumed.

    Background

    The
    Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, in 2022 announced that Ghana has concluded
    talks for the operationalisation of the Gold for Oil policy.

    The
    Vice President in a Facebook post said the first oil products under the policy
    will be delivered in January 2023.

    “I
    am happy to announce that the Government of Ghana has concluded the
    arrangements for the operationalisation of the Gold for Oil policy.

    “Consequently,
    the first oil products under the policy will be delivered in January 2023. My
    thanks to the Minister for Energy, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources,
    Governor of the Bank of Ghana, the Chamber of Mines, PMMC and BOST for their
    leadership in the operationalisation of the Government’s Gold for Oil Policy.”

    Meanwhile,
    Mr. Jinapor is calling on government to communicate the full details about the
    batter trade to Ghanaians.

    “Where
    are the details? What’s the cost of the gold, and at what quantities of gold
    did they [government] buy? At what price did they sell the gold? How much is
    the oil producer selling crude to us?”
    he asked.

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