The Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has said that the current Gross International Reserve level of the country is above the traditional reserve benchmark of three months of import cover.
He noted, however, that this not sufficient to provide adequate self-insurance against disruptive economic shocks and its impact on the exchange rate like the historical cedi depreciation in 2022–2023.
Dr Forson said this on February 25 when he presented the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP) to Parliament.
“To strengthen Ghana’s resilience to economic shocks, Cabinet has approved the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Policy (GANRAP). The Policy presents Ghana’s strategic plan to strengthen external resilience by increasing the nation’s International Reserves to an equivalent of fifteen (15) months of import cover by end-2028,” he explained.
The Finance minister further stated that, “the policy is anchored on the objectives of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140) which mandates
the Ghana Gold Board to generate foreign exchange for the country and support gold reserve accumulation by the Bank of Ghana.”
He said despite the progress made in 2025, growing global uncertainties make Ghana vulnerable to:
• external financing volatility;
• commodity price cycles;
• global geopolitical tensions;
• climate‑related disruptions; and
• regional security risks.
“These have simultaneously lifted gold prices to historic highs and provide an opportunity for Ghana to build reserves to secure the country’s external sector against any major shock to strengthen Ghana’s first line of defence. Given these uncertainties, the conventional threshold of three months of import cover is no longer adequate, Dr Forson added.
Government therefore seeks to accumulate a strategic buffer beyond the conventional reserve adequacy levels and build an “economic war‑chest” of 15 months of import cover by end-2028 to:
• Safeguard macroeconomic stability;
• Break the cycle of economic downturns;
• Sustain confidence in the currency;
• Improve investor confidence
