Gold-for-oil deal shady – NDC

• Posted on March 21, 2023March 21, 2023
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described the Gold-for-Oil policy of the government as shady.

The gold for oil initiative is an attempt by the government to move away from the US dollar for international transactions.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia said that the government was highly optimistic that the Gold-for-Oil policy will continue achieving positive results.

Already, he said, the policy was seeing stability in the exchange rate and fuel prices.

Speaking at a forum organized by the Bulk Oil Storage and Transformation (BOST) company in Accra, on Wednesday, March 15, Dr Bawumia said: “The most important aspect of the gold-for-oil policy is not just the reduction in fuel prices, but the most important aspect is the savings in foreign exchange that the Bank of Ghana will make as a result of the lower demand for forex to import oil. That saving is huge. We are currently importing about 50 to 60 percent of oil under this policy, the goal is to move to 100 percent and that will be done this year.”

He added “We have to understand that prices of fuel will go up and will come down but what we expect to see under the Gold-for-Oil policy is more stability in the pricing and also savings in foreign exchange.

“There is more to come, this is the third month of operation of the policy, some people said it will not work, and Ghana doesn’t have enough gold. How can you say that? We have been mining this gold for 200 years, and they keep taking it out and it cannot work for us?

But the National Chairman of the NDC Johnson Asiedu Nketia described the deal as a scandal in which the Vice President is involved.

He also accused the Vice President of being involved in the “PDS Scndal, the stone rice scandal and the famous appearance fee scandal.

He said this while delivering an address at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) auditorium on Monday, March 20, to respond to the State of the Nation Address Delivered By President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo last week.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought into the pocket of the government an amount of GHS30 billion, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has said.

However, Mr Asiedu Nketia accused the government of wasting the funds on election-related spending.

Delivering an address at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) auditorium on Monday, March 20, “Covid-19 brought the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government a windfall of about GHS30bn to manage and mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Unfortunately, this was wasted in election-related expenses.”

He stressed that Covid-19 became a “Corruption bonanza and a milking cow.”

He further accused the government of not being truthful to Ghanaians.

He said the President assured him that there was not going to be haircuts on investment but Ghanaians are witnessing it.

Also, he said, the government constantly told the people that they would not go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support but they are now seeking a deal with Fujd.

All these, he said smack of untruthfulness.

By Laud Nartey