Keypoints:
- GH¢5bn removed from capital spending
- Gold programme moves onto national budget
- Infrastructure bears the immediate cost
GHANA’S government has cut GH¢5bn (about $429.6m) from planned capital expenditure to finance its gold-backed reserve programme, exposing a direct trade-off between infrastructure investment and the drive to strengthen foreign exchange reserves.
The reallocation keeps Ghana’s overall 2026 spending ceiling unchanged but places the programme’s costs more clearly within the national budget. It also shifts financial responsibility away from the Bank of Ghana following IMF concerns about quasi-fiscal operations.
Capital spending absorbs the cut
Ghana’s 2026 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review maintains total expenditure at GH¢302.46bn (about $25.98bn), while moving funds between spending categories.
Capital expenditure falls from GH¢57.53bn (about $4.94bn) to GH¢52.53bn (about $4.51bn). The GH¢5bn (about $429.6m) difference appears as a new allocation to the Ghana Gold Board under other expenditure.
The government-financed portion of the Big Push infrastructure programme was reduced by GH¢2bn (about $171.8m).
Foreign-financed capital expenditure was also cut by GH¢3bn (about $257.7m) after bilateral loan disbursements fell below expectations.
The fiscal review does not identify which individual projects could be postponed or scaled down. It is therefore more accurate to report a reduction in planned capital expenditure than to suggest that specific projects have already been cancelled.
Budget takes over gold costs
The Ministry of Finance says the GH¢5bn (about $429.6m) will cover the cost of implementing the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy, known as GANRAP.
The provision should not be described entirely as money for direct bullion purchases because the official document refers more broadly to implementation costs.
Moving the expense into the budget improves visibility and parliamentary oversight. However, the financial exposure does not disappear. The programme must now compete directly with infrastructure, healthcare, education and other government priorities.
The IMF said a ceiling on Bank of Ghana claims on the government and public entities was temporarily breached because of cost-sharing arrangements under the domestic gold purchase programme.
It called for the programme to be transferred to GoldBod and for the permanent discontinuation of quasi-fiscal operations at the central bank.
The move follows wider scrutiny of the financial risks surrounding Ghana’s gold operations.
Forson defends reserve strategy
Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson told Parliament that the government had reduced the programme’s average cost from 14.5 percent to 5 percent of the value of gold purchased.
‘This investment is building an economic war chest to strengthen Ghana’s international reserves, protect the cedi, reinforce macroeconomic stability,’ Forson said.
He said the programme would also boost investor confidence and protect the economy from external shocks.
GANRAP targets foreign exchange reserves equivalent to 15 months of import cover by the end of 2028. It envisages weekly purchases of about 3.02 tonnes of gold, supported by domestic production, exports, remittances and efforts to curb foreign exchange leakages.
GoldBod also began implementing an agreement on July 1, 2026, to purchase 30 percent of participating large-scale miners’ output in cedis.
Parliament faces oversight test
The government says annual GANRAP allocations will continue until the programme achieves its reserve targets.
That means the GH¢5bn (about $429.6m) provision may not be a one-off commitment. It could become a recurring competitor for capital investment and essential public services.
Parliament will require detailed reporting on implementation expenses, gold valuations, trading margins and the projects affected by the spending shift.
The government must also demonstrate that the currency and reserve benefits generated by GANRAP outweigh the economic cost of reducing infrastructure expenditure.
