by Ekow Dontoh and Moses Mozart Dzawu, Bloomberg:

Ghana spends about $4.8 billion annually to buy fuel
West African nation’s reserves have fallen 38% to $6.7 billion

Ghana is in talks with Emirates National Oil Co. for a barter arrangement that will enable the West African nation to buy fuel with gold.

The government reached a “tentative” agreement with the Dubai-based oil firm, said Kabiru Mahama, an economic adviser to Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia. Ghana, Africa’s second-largest gold producer, last week ordered large mining companies to sell 20% of the metal they refine to the central bank from Jan. 1 as it builds up reserves of bullion to be used to import fuel and reduce demand for dollars after its currency plunged 57% this year.