Sulemanu Koney, the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, has offered important insights into how the mining industry contributes to the stabilization of the local currency.
In a statement to the media on Thursday, September 19, he said that the Ghanaian cedi may be in much worse position and might even drop below ¢25 to $1 without the contributions of the mining sector.

“Trust me, if you didn’t have the mining industry, we would probably be heading to around ¢25 to $1,” he said in response to claims that the sector has not had a significant enough impact on the local currency.

Although there are misunderstandings over the industry’s economic impact, Mr. Koney emphasized that the data speaks for itself.

See also: In compliance with an IMF directive, BoG claims to have limited allocation to the “Gold for Oil” scheme.

He claims that mining accounts for a sizable amount of the nation’s foreign exchange profits and that programs like the Bank of Ghana’s partnership with mining corporations to sell a portion of their gold reserves have been crucial in supporting the value of the Ghanaian cedi.

We’ve worked with the Bank of Ghana on a partnership for the past few years, selling them a portion of our gold to use as reserves. We continue to do this voluntarily rather than under duress, Mr. Koney clarified.

He emphasized a crucial distinction in response to assertions that Ghana’s mining industry should increase its gold reserves more successfully than in certain non-mining countries: “The reason why nations that don’t mine gold frequently have enormous reserves is that they operate in a separate market.

Companies engaged in mining are not in that industry. To fund our operations, we import foreign currency into the nation.

See also: Evaluation of Ghana’s Gold-for-Oil Stake

Additionally, he emphasized that mining businesses support the economy by using cedis to pay for labor, electricity, and consumables, among other inputs.

Labor, energy, and other inputs must be paid for locally. If you don’t bring money into the nation, how do you accomplish that? Naturally, a sizable amount of earnings is returned, according to Koney.