The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has expressed doubts about the Bank of Ghana’s newly launched Ghana Gold Coin (GGC), questioning its effectiveness in reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar.
Although the Bank of Ghana claims the GGC—a gold-backed asset introduced on September 27 under its domestic gold programme—will encourage savings and boost market liquidity, the IEA argues that it overlooks deeper economic issues.
According to the IEA’s report, the coin may have limited impact, urging the central bank to prioritize tackling inflation and fiscal imbalances to address Ghana’s economic challenges more effectively.
“Offering GGC as an alternative asset to the dollar seems to be an admission of failure to deal with the real problems facing the economy, which drives Ghanaians to hold dollars instead of cedis,” the report stated.
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has criticized the Bank of Ghana’s claim that the Ghana Gold Coin (GGC) will aid in liquidity management.
The IEA argues that the process—where the Bank buys gold with cedis and then exchanges GGCs for cedis—will not reduce liquidity.
The report calls for deeper economic reforms to address the root causes of the cedi’s depreciation.
It recommends that the Bank of Ghana prioritize fiscal and monetary discipline, close the inflation gap with key trading partners, and implement structural reforms to correct foreign exchange imbalances.