In a bid to strengthen the Central Bank’s holdings in precious metal gold, the Governor of the bank says it will in the middle of this year commence a gold purchasing policy.

According to Dr Ernest Addison, the decision to purchase gold was taken last year with an aim to work with local gold buying agents.

“The Bank of Ghana buying gold was a decision that was taken and we decided that as a central bank in a country that was producing gold, maybe we needed to strengthen our holdings of gold so that policy decision was taken and the bank has put in modalities in working with some of the local buying agents on acquiring that gold,” Dr Ernest Addison explained at a press conference on January 31.

“We’re currently finalizing arrangements for the refining of that gold. We haven’t done any first purchase yet but we were about to do that sometime last year but we decided to put that on hold and hopefully by the middle of this year that programme will start,” he explained.

Recently President Akufo-Addo said the AngloGold Ashanti Limited has agreed it will contribute US$2 for every ounce of gold produced into a Community Trust Fund, over the lifespan of its Obuasi Mine to facilitate development projects in the local communities of the area.

According to him, a one-off contribution of US$250,000 has been paid into the Trust Fund to develop these local communities ahead of the company’s commencement of gold production at the mine.

“Government will also work with AngloGold Ashanti Limited to ensure that all social and environmental concerns, with respect to the reclamation and restoration of the mine sites, are satisfactorily addressed, and these areas put back to good use for the benefit of the communities within the catchment areas,” Akufo-Addo earlier said.