Joy FM Fact-Check: Bawumia is right, NDC gov’t has not added even a tonne to gold reserves

Joy FM has confirmed former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s claim that the Mahama government has not increased Ghana’s gold reserves by even a tonne.

The current government has been praising itself for the stability of the local currency, the Cedi, attributing this success to measures such as the gold purchase programme.

Bawumia’s position
However, Dr. Bawumia, the NPP’s presidential candidate for the 2024 elections, disputes this. He stated that the NDC has not made any contributions to the domestic gold purchase programme.

Speaking to NPP supporters in London over the weekend, Dr. Bawumia remarked, “They have been in office so far; they’ve not even increased it by one tonne—not a single tonne.”

He elaborated on his statement, pointing out that the previous NPP government had recognized the economic significance of gold.  He said through the gold purchase programme, the Bank of Ghana had built up reserves worth $5 billion over two years.

Records confirmed
Amid these conflicting claims, Joy FM conducted a fact-check on Monday using available data from the Bank of Ghana between January and April 2025.

The data corroborates Dr. Bawumia’s assertion, revealing that the NDC government has only added 0.84 ounces—not even one percent—to the gold reserves.

Samuel Kojo Brace, the anchor of Joy FM’s News Night, stated, “So we can confirm that what the former Vice President is saying is true.”