An associate professor of Finance at Andrews University in the U.S. has endorsed the Gold Board initiative but warned that the country must prepare for a possible downturn in global gold prices.
Prof Willian Kwasi Peprah, speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, said, “So the gold board idea is very good.”
However, he stressed that the policy’s success will depend on how it is operationalised and on whether Ghana builds buffers to manage future shocks.
He pointed to the country’s existing commodity stabilisation accounts for cocoa and petroleum and argued that gold must not be left out.
“If the gold board will work, we need another stabilisation account for the gold,” he said.
Prof. Peprah explained that while gold prices have been rising, history shows that such price movements are not permanent, and Ghana must plan for a decline.
“We know from history, gold price… has always been going up… [but] we must watch it carefully and make sure that… the price… will still start to come down,” he said.
He said that gold trading is driven primarily by three factors: fear, inflation, and currency hedging.
“We currently have fear… so many things happening in the world, which makes investors uncertain. So that is why we are seeing the gold price really, really moving up,” he said.
On inflation, he noted that “The IMF and World Bank projects are being a little bit moderate.” He added that currency movements are also prompting investors to allocate to gold.
“We’ve noticed that the US dollar is devaluing, and that’s why we see investors moving into gold,” he explained.
Prof Peprah said Ghana must treat the current high prices as a windfall and save part of the proceeds.
“So now that we are having this windfall, we should be able to establish another stabilisation fund purposely for gold, to put in that money to guard against… that will come in,” he said.
He advised the Gold Board, the Bank of Ghana and government to create a dedicated fund from gold sales.
“My advice to probably the gold board, the central bank and the government is that whatever amount of gold sales that is coming… we create that fund just for gold,” he said.
He stated that the purpose is to ensure that Ghana can support the gold industry when prices fall.
“When the price starts to drop, we’ll be able to use it support the gold industry in Ghana,” he said.
Prof Peprah welcomed efforts to refine gold locally to add value, but insisted a stabilisation fund remains necessary.
“It’s good. We are doing a refinery to add value, but that commodity fund for gold is needed,” he said.
He also raised concerns about the Gold Board’s financing structure, noting that it must be carefully examined to avoid future problems.
“The financing model for the gold board also needs to be looked at a little bit,” he said.
He noted that the Gold Board has relied on government funding, but “the amount they promised was not fully released in 2025.”
Prof Peprah also stated that the Bank of Ghana is expected to exit financing for the gold trade.
He cited a legal precedent that permits the Gold Board to accept payments in advance from buyers.
“It allows them to take money in advance from whoever needs gold, and then be able to give them the gold,” he said.
Prof. Peprah warned that the financing model must be properly structured so that the Gold Board does not become “the next Coco board.”
He added that Ghana’s trade position could weaken if the country becomes too dependent on gold without a buffer.
“If we fail on gold… our trade balance will move into a very struggling position,” he cautioned.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com