Ato Forson Exposes ‘Gold-for-Oil’ as a Sham: No Gold Was Ever Traded for Fuel

Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has revealed that the much-touted “Gold for Oil” policy under the previous government was not a true barter arrangement as publicly claimed.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Dr. Forson dismissed the policy as a facade, stating that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) simply paid suppliers in dollars—contrary to the narrative that Ghana exchanged gold directly for petroleum products.

“It didn’t work properly. The Bank of Ghana was paying in cash—dollars—not gold. There was never any gold-for-oil barter. Never,” he emphasized in a direct response to host Evans Mensah.

The former administration had promoted the policy as a groundbreaking solution to stabilize the cedi by reducing demand for foreign exchange. However, Dr. Forson said the reality was far less innovative.

He explained that a supplier based in the United Arab Emirates provided fuel through the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD). The CBOD paid in cedis, and the BoG converted that into dollars to complete the transaction. “Pure trade. Nothing like the barter they portrayed,” he said.

Confirming with BoG officials, Dr. Forson noted that although the central bank had been increasing its gold reserves, it had no direct link to the oil purchases.