Bright Simons, who is a big deal at IMANI Africa and started a company called mPedigree, has some important thoughts about Ghana's money, the Cedi, and the country's gold exports. He believes that people who care about policies should really think about how to keep the Cedi stable and how to make sure the gold exports keep doing well.
Bright suggests that the government should look closely at how different prices of gold could affect their plans. This means they should test out what would happen if gold prices go down.
According to a report from the Bank of Ghana, Ghana's exports jumped to a whopping $9.33 billion in April 2025! This was mainly because gold and cocoa were selling really well. Thanks to this, Ghana's trade surplus (which is like having extra money from selling things) grew to $4.14 billion, which is about 4.7% of the country's total money made (GDP).
Gold was the star of the show, bringing in $5.24 billion, which is 56% of all exports. This was a big jump from $3.72 billion in March because the price of gold went up to $3,218 for each ounce.
The Cedi, which is Ghana's money, has been getting stronger compared to other major currencies. As of May 26, it was trading at about 10.94 Cedis for one dollar.
Dr. Johnson Asiama, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, said that the Cedi's strength comes from several things, like careful money management and having a lot of money saved up. He mentioned this during a press conference on May 23, saying that the Cedi has "bounced back strongly against major currencies."
Bright Simons shared his thoughts on social media, saying that while the rising Cedi and booming gold exports look good for the government, it's important to think about how these results can be kept up. He pointed out that politics is about the big picture (the "WHATs"), while policy is about the details (the "HOWs").
He raised a question: How much gold should Ghana keep in its reserves? The opposition party is saying that the ruling party isn't increasing the gold reserves fast enough. If you look at the numbers, gold has been around 30% of the reserves for a while. Should the government try to increase that?
Bright believes that smart decisions need to be made about this. In a good society, making the right choices is just as important as the politics of a strong Cedi. If the connection between good policy and good politics is broken, it can lead to problems.
He warned that if the high price of gold is what’s making things look good, then a drop in gold prices could mess everything up. The same people who were praising the government might start blaming them if things go wrong.
Right now, the gold in Ghana's reserves is worth about $3.6 billion. Just a year ago, it was worth about $2.3 billion. This means that gold can be a tricky part of the reserves.
So, how should the government decide whether to keep buying more gold? Usually, when the dollar is weak, gold prices go up. But when the dollar gets stronger, gold prices drop. This means that gold might not always be the best choice when trying to strengthen the currency.
Buying gold at high prices now to help the Cedi when the dollar is weak might not be the smartest move. If the dollar gets stronger, the government could end up selling gold for less money than they need.
In conclusion, these are complicated decisions that need careful thinking. Bright believes that even the simple ideas he shared can be confusing for regular people. That's why it's important for societies to have strong policy discussions. While citizens hold the government accountable for overall results, the policy experts need to make sure the government is doing a good job with specific policies. If this doesn’t happen, it can lead to big problems.
