The 21st Century Gold Standard was piloted in Ghana under Bawumia – Gideon Boako

Tano North MP, Gideon Boako, says the 21st Century Gold Standard was piloted in Ghana under the leadership of former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. According to Dr Boako, Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme and Gold-for-Oil initiative demonstrated that gold could be deployed as a modern monetary and reserve-management instrument without returning to the rigid gold standard of the 20th century. He said the model provides a way for countries to strengthen their reserves while retaining flexibility in monetary policy.

“The 21st Century Gold Standard was piloted in Ghana under Bawumia,” Dr Boako said, pointing to the increase in Ghana’s gold reserves from about eight tonnes to more than 31 tonnes. He also cited gross international reserves exceeding $9 billion by the end of 2024 as evidence of the potential of the approach. He explained that the concept does not require a country to fix the value of its currency to a specific quantity of gold.

Rather, gold can serve as a backing instrument and liquidity buffer while exchange rates remain flexible and central banks retain the ability to conduct independent monetary policy. It is infrastructure,” Dr Boako said, arguing that Ghana’s experience could provide an important blueprint for commodity-producing economies seeking to convert their natural-resource wealth into stronger reserves and reduce excessive dependence on traditional reserve currencies. Ghana can avoid future International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailouts if the country adopts the gold-backed monetary framework championed by former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia while maintaining strict fiscal discipline, Tano North MP, Gideon Boako, has said.

According to Dr Boako, Ghana’s recurring resort to IMF programmes is driven by two major vulnerabilities — pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves and fiscal indiscipline. He argued that a monetary system capable of strengthening reserves through gold, combined with strict adherence to fiscal rules, could help Ghana break the cycle of balance-of-payments crises and repeated bailouts. “If this Bawumia Doctrine of gold-backed stability is followed stricto sensu, it removes the monetary reason for IMF bailout,” Dr Boako said.

“What remains is only the fiscal reason — overspending.” He maintained that the country could build a more resilient economy if it combines stronger reserve accumulation with firm controls on government expenditure. Dr Boako said the approach must be complemented by “zero tolerance for unbudgeted expenditure” and strict compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act. He noted that fiscal discipline would prevent governments from undermining the gains achieved through stronger reserves and a more stable monetary framework.

“If we combine gold-backed reserves with the fiscal discipline Dr Bawumia has always advocated — zero tolerance for unbudgeted expenditure and strict adherence to the Fiscal Responsibility Act — then yes, Ghana can credibly exit the boom-bust-IMF cycle for good,” he said.