FACT-CHECK: Bawumia played key role in introduction of Domestic Gold Purchase Programme

There is an ongoing debate over who introduced Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP), with claims over whether former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia played a central role in the birth of the initiative.

A review of the documentary evidence, including Bank of Ghana records, a Ghana Chamber of Mines publication, Bawumia’s policy commitments and the current Governor’s submissions to Parliament supports the conclusion that Dr. Bawumia played a key role in getting the programme started and subsequently drove its expansion as a major economic policy.

What the Bank of Ghana said in 2021

The strongest evidence comes from the remarks delivered by then-Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Ernest Addison at the launch of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme on 17 June 2021.

In the concluding section of his speech, the Governor specifically acknowledged Bawumia’s role, stating:

“Let me acknowledge the support of His Excellency the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who got this programme started.”

This is arguably the most significant piece of evidence in the debate because it is an official statement from the Bank of Ghana Governor at the launch of the programme itself.

It does not merely say Bawumia supported the programme. It expressly says he “got this programme started.”

The Governor, however, also recognized that the initiative involved several other institutions.

He said:

“I would also want to acknowledge the collaborative roles played by other key stakeholders…”

Those stakeholders included the Ghana Minerals Commission, PMMC, Ghana Chamber of Mines and selected licensed gold aggregators.

The evidence therefore establishes Bawumia’s important initiating role while also showing that the programme was developed through collaboration.

Evidence from the Ghana Chamber of Mines

Further evidence comes from the Ghana Chamber of Mines’ September 2022 publication, which documented the implementation of the programme among major mining companies.

The Chamber reported that its gold-producing member companies would sell approximately 125,000 ounces of gold to the Bank of Ghana between September and December 2022.

According to the Chamber, the decision followed a meeting involving Vice President Bawumia, members of the Economic Management Team, the Bank of Ghana, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Minerals Commission, PMMC and the leadership of the Chamber.

Following that meeting, Bawumia explained the arrangement:

“It was agreed, that to help shore up the foreign exchange reserves of the Bank of Ghana, starting September 1st, the Bank of Ghana will purchase a portion of the output of the gold mining companies on a continuous basis at world market prices, but payment will be made in Ghana cedis.”

He added:

“This will represent a significant and sustainable addition to Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves over time and strengthen the country’s balance of payments position.”

The Chamber’s account also records that Newmont Ghana had already sold 3,500 ounces of gold to the Bank of Ghana under the programme before the meeting.

Bawumia’s Gold-for-Forex policy

Bawumia’s role also became clearer when the programme was incorporated into his broader Gold-for-Forex policy.

In the NPP’s 2024 manifesto, Bawumia pledged to institutionalize the Gold-for-Forex programme and explained the mechanism as one in which the Bank of Ghana would use cedis to purchase locally produced gold and obtain foreign exchange.

The manifesto states that the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme had become a mechanism for building Ghana’s foreign-exchange reserves through domestic gold purchases.

This demonstrates that Bawumia subsequently made the programme a central component of his economic policy vision.

What the current Governor’s submissions show

The written responses submitted by the current Bank of Ghana Governor to Parliament’s Finance Committee on 15 July 2026 provide further evidence of how the programme evolved.

The responses explain that since August 2024, the Bank of Ghana had not undertaken direct FX market interventions, instead using the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme to intermediate foreign-exchange flows through gold purchases.

The document states that between January 7 and December 31, 2025, total FX intermediation amounted to US$10.359 billion.

This evidence primarily concerns the evolution of the programme, rather than who originally conceived it. It nevertheless shows that the initiative launched years earlier had subsequently developed into a significant component of Ghana’s foreign-exchange management framework.

So, did Bawumia introduce the programme?

The evidence supports a qualified yes.

The most direct evidence is the statement from the Bank of Ghana Governor at the programme’s 2021 launch:

“Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia got this programme started.”

That is supported by the Ghana Chamber of Mines’ 2022 record of Bawumia’s direct involvement in getting major mining companies to participate in the programme and his explanation of how the arrangement would strengthen Ghana’s reserves.

His subsequent Gold-for-Forex policy also demonstrates that he championed and sought to institutionalize the mechanism.

Fact-check verdict: TRUE

The documentary evidence supports the claim that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia played a key role in the introduction and development of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.

The clearest evidence is not a political claim made years later, but the Bank of Ghana Governor’s own statement at the programme’s 2021 launch that Bawumia “got this programme started.”

At the same time, the evidence shows that the programme was collaborative, with the Bank of Ghana, mining companies and other state institutions involved, and discussions predating the formal 2021 launch.

Therefore, the accurate conclusion is: Bawumia played a key role in getting the DGPP started and in subsequently developing it into the Gold-for-Forex policy.