Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Asiama, is pushing for aggressive local processing of Ghana’s natural resources, warning that the country has delayed for too long in adding value to key exports such as gold, cocoa and oil.
According to him, processing these commodities locally could trigger a major turnaround in Ghana’s balance of payments while boosting government revenue, creating jobs and improving oversight across the value chain.
Dr. Asiama made the remarks at the signing ceremony of the second gold refining partnership between Ghana Gold Board and Royal Ghana Gold Limited.
“For us, processing our national resources is a strategy that is long overdue. Not just gold, but also cocoa, and of course, oil. If we can process these three, our balance of payments will experience a drastic turnover,” he stated.
The Governor said the central bank fully supports government’s push to increase local refining and processing, particularly within the gold sector, stressing that the economic benefits are too significant to ignore.
“The advantages are clear. Jobs, greater revenues for government, much more oversight on the entire processing value chain,” he said.
Dr. Asiama further assured industry players of the Bank of Ghana’s backing, indicating that the central bank remains committed to supporting initiatives that deepen value addition and strengthen the country’s export earnings.
“And so therefore, in whatever way we can support, as a central bank, we will support,” he added.
The latest agreement forms part of broader efforts by government to expand local gold refining capacity and retain more value from Ghana’s mineral resources before export.
