President Akufo-Addo Announces Historic Gold Production Figures.
President Akufo-Addo, during his seventh State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, February 27, revealed that Ghana has regained its position as the leading producer of gold in Africa, overtaking South Africa. He announced that the country produced an unprecedented four million ounces of gold in 2023, with expectations to reach 4.5 million ounces by the end of 2024.
The President attributed this achievement to progressive policies that have led to the revival of dormant mines like the Obuasi and Bibiani Mines, as well as the expansion of existing ones. He highlighted the impact of reducing the withholding tax on unprocessed gold by small-scale miners from 3% to 1.5%, resulting in a 900% increase in gold export from the small-scale sector over the last two years.
In response to this success, the government launched the innovative Gold for Oil Policy, leveraging on these resources to account for 30% of the country’s total crude oil consumption.
President Akufo-Addo also addressed the cocoa sector, promising to “do right by cocoa farmers” in the coming season. He praised his administration’s decision to increase the producer price of cocoa from GHc800 to GHc1,300 for the 2023/24 crop season.
In 2020, gold in Ghana contributed close to around 7.8 billion Ghanaian cedis (GHS), roughly 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).