The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners (GNASSM) and a member of the GOLDBOD Technical Committee, Godwin Nickleson Amarh, has assured members of the association that his outfit would fight for the fair pricing of gold when the Goldbod is finally set up.
“GNASSM is fully represented on the Technical Committee of the GOLDBOD and will ensure that the pricing of gold is fair, competitive and at a commercial rate that aligns with the stringent London Bullion Market Association certification”, he stated.
Speaking at a forum organised by the Precious Minerals Mining Company (PMMC) at Tarkwa, in the Western Region, last week Friday, to sensitise the participants on the purpose, objects and functions of the soon to be established GOLDBOD, Godwin Nickleson Amarh also said small scale miners are particularly concerned about degraded lands.
He assured that they would collaborate with the GOLDBOD to ensure that all degraded lands had been restored.
At the forum, players in the gold trading sector massively endorsed the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) and its stated objectives and indicated this will be a positive game changer to the economy and fiscal space.
The GOLDBOD aims to streamline the gold trading sector and the stakeholders made up of gold buyers, jewelers, bullion traders, small scale miners, licensed gold exporters, banks and commercial mining firms in the Western Region among others, believe it will yield maximum benefits for the country, particularly in foreign exchange, stabilising the Cedi and accumulating more reserves.
The gold dealers who attended the forum expressed optimism about the GOLDBOD’s potential and urged the government to fast-track its establishment.
However, they cautioned the government to ensure fair representation of players in the gold trading sector on the governing board.
They also called for the inclusion of traditional leaders and members from academia on the board.
Jonathan Ababio who represented the Jewelers Association, praised the provision in the draft legislation to retain a percentage of gold purchases and supply machinery to add value to their produce.
“We cannot continue to do things the way they are and expect different results. The retention of a percentage of gold purchases in the country and the provision of machinery by the government to enable us to add value to our produce will enable us to break into the international market and this is good news for us”, he noted.
Alhaji Dauda, a licensed gold buyer was, particularly, enthused about the allocation of US$279 million to the GOLDBOD as a revolving fund for gold purchases. He urged the government to ensure fair disbursement and timely releases of the funds. He also urged the government to ensure that gold is bought at a commercial rate.
“The government must let the money flow so that our work will go on. There shouldn’t be any liquidity challenges that will affect our operations. Let us all support the GOLDBOD to transform the gold trading sector”, he noted.
Kwaku Effah Esuahene from the Chamber of Bullion Traders Association noted that the GOLDBOD will help to determine the amount of forex that has hit the country’s accounts and urged stakeholders to support the government in preventing gold smugglers from taking over the sector.
The Managing Director of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) of Ghana, Samuel Gyamfi, reassured the stakeholders that the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) would benefit all players in the gold trading sector, not just a select few.
“Per the law, proceeds from the sale of gold that the GOLDBOD will sell will be used to support the miners and mining communities. We will supply them with mining equipment and machinery to boost their operations.
“As part of the GOLDBOD’s corporate social responsibility, we are going to build schools, roads, award scholarships and supply water in the mining communities. So, it is the entire country that is going to benefit from the GOLDBOD initiative”, he noted.
He explained that the government, through the Ministry of Finance, has set up the GOLDBOD Technical Committee to draft enabling legislation for the sector.
While the GOLDBOD initiative promises to bring benefits to the gold trading sector, it has also faced criticism and skepticism from certain quarters.
The Minority Caucus in Parliament claim that the initiative is “an avenue to create, loot and share”, as it has been designed to enable President John Dramani Mahama’s brother, Ibrahim Mahama, to monopolise the gold trading sector.
Samuel Gyamfi dismissed these claims and labelled the proponents against the GOLDBOD as being mischievous.
“All that the naysayers are doing is mischief. Ibrahim Mahama is a miner and he is not interested in buying and selling gold. When the GOLDBOD is established, it is going to benefit the entire country”, Sammy Gyamfi noted.
He assured the participants that the Technical Committee would not draft any legislation that would harm their businesses.
Removal of gold smugglers
Sammy Gyamfi took the participants through the draft GOLDBOD Bill and highlighted several benefits of it, including the removal of foreign gold smugglers, particularly Indians and Chinese, from Ghana’s gold trading sector. He noted that the GOLDBOD will empower authorities to flush out these individuals whose fraudulent activities have impacted the sector.
According to data from the Bank of Ghana, Ghana officially exported $11.64 billion worth of gold in 2024, a 53.2% year-on-year increase.
US$4.6 billion of this amount came from small-scale miners. However, the value of gold smuggled out of the country was nearly double this figure, data revealed.
Sole buyer
Samuel Gyamfi also revealed that the GOLDBOD will be the sole buyer of gold through licensed aggregators and local traders, emphasising that the initiative would ensure that the country would shift away from the system where Ghanaians and foreign companies with export licenses could purchase gold without going through the approved rules. He also assured of fair and competitive pricing
No ban on small scale mining
Further interacting with the stakeholders, Samuel Gyamfi reassured that the government would not ban small scale mining, stressing that those doing legitimate business would be protected by the GOLDBOD.
By Stephen Odoi-Larbi
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