a. ASM Gold is purchased at spot prices as a disincentive for smuggling and to ensure that sufficient volumes of ASM gold are channeled through official sources.
b. Spot purchases of ASM gold have been a deliberate policy choice under the ASM G4R programme since its inception in the year 2022.
c. While this approach may create cost for the Bank of Ghana, the programme’s intent has always been reserve accumulation, and macroeconomic gains – NOT profit for the Central Bank.
d. Attempts to purchase gold at a discount for profit would undermine the programmeme’s objectives. In 2021, forinstance, the introduction of a 3% withholding tax contributed to a sharp drop in small-scale gold exports through official channels, from 39.3 tons worth US$2 billion in 2020 to a paltry 3.4 tons worth US$184 million.
This highlights the sensitivity of the artisanal gold market to pricing and the direct link between non-competitive purchase prices and increased smuggling.
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