The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced that it will gradually phase out the Gold for Oil policy, implemented in February 2023 to stabilize fuel prices.
The Central Bank believes that the programme has achieved its purpose and is no longer necessary.
“The Gold for Oil policy was a crisis management policy. We came in at the time in 2022 when the currency was depreciating very sharply and then prices at the pump became unbearable.”
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“So as things normalise the rationale for these interventions may not be as strong as they were when we were in the middle of the crisis. So this is why we may have to get out of that operation,” he said.
The BoG’s decision comes as the Ghanaian economy is beginning to show signs of recovery. The cedi has appreciated against the US dollar, and inflation has begun to moderate.
Meanwhile, the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) has denied claims that it has imported manganese-laden fuel under the Gold for Oil policy.
Recent reports have suggested that the importation of manganese-laden gasoline into the market is to blame for the underperformance of vehicles.
However, BOST has categorically denied these claims. In a statement issued on Monday, November 27, BOST stated that it has not imported any product under the Gold for Oil policy that does not meet the specifications set by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA).
“We, therefore, implore the public to disregard the claims of our detractors regarding the importation of manganese-laden fuel,” the statement read.
BOST also stated that it has imported 23 cargoes under the Gold for Oil policy, and none of them have failed the quality tests conducted by the GSA.
The company called on the public to allow the regulatory authorities to investigate the exact source of the manganese-laden fuel.
“Grant the regulatory authority of the petroleum downstream the time and space to investigate the exact source of the said product and also to tighten the regime to clamp out the room for the importation of potentially problematic products onto the market,” BOST said in its statement.
Source: CNR
