Ghana’s 2015 bauxite export proceeds already covered in AG’s report, clarifies BoG

The Bank of Ghana came up with a clarification on the US$41.05 million proceeds from bauxite exports that went missing in the Auditor General’s 2015 Statements of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments report saying it is there in the report, but in a separate column. BoG said it did not control the means of repatriation directly; hence, missed out the accounts receipts when the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) inquired it of the financial stake of volumes of bauxite exported in 2015.

Earlier this week it was reported by Citi Business News that proceeds from 2015 bauxite export worth US$41.05 million was captured in the Statement of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments of Bank of Ghana as part of non-traditional exports in the Schedule of Earnings of Dealer Commercial Banks in Table 17 of the first half report and Table 18 of the second half report.

The report stated, "The proceeds were not captured in the foreign exchange receipts and payments report because repatriation through the commercial banks do not constitute receipts in foreign currency that increase the reserve of the country as managed by Bank of Ghana."

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The inclusion of the total bauxite export volume and value for 2015 in the Balance of Payments statistics, just as it is done in all other years, was also confirmed in the report.

Based on the report PAC had directed BoG to immediately furnish it with all details of proceeds from the country’s bauxite export data in 2015. BoG's explanation on the matter now awaits a feedback from PAC.