The President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has cautioned the government over its ambitious plan to ramp up Ghana’s international reserves, urging instead a sharper focus on strengthening domestic value chains.
The comment comes in the wake of Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson’s announcement on Wednesday, February 25, that Ghana aims to lift its gross international reserves from 5.7 months of import cover at the end of 2025 to 15 months by 2028. The plan hinges on weekly gold purchases of 3.02 tonnes, projected to generate annual gross receipts of US$25.28 billion, according to official figures.
Speaking on Citi FM’s The Big Issue on Saturday February 28, Cudjoe stressed that while the Finance Minister is pushing to build reserves to 15 months of import cover by 2028, the money could be better spent shoring up the economy’s “value chain loopholes.”
“Ato is forcing, we know, but we also need to let him understand that if he goes on this path of trying to accumulate a lot of reserves because I hear he said something like that for 15 months…It is better to use the money to plug all those value chain gaps,” Cudjoe said.
“…Before the 1,3,3 plan comes to fruition, you need to invest in value chains, which is why I like the focus on the Volta Basin. That whole area, look at that integration and do it properly.”
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