GHANA’S Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has officially launched a Technical Committee tasked with drafting the legal and operational framework for the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod). The GoldBod initiative is part of a broader effort to streamline and optimise Ghana’s gold sector, thereby supporting the country’s economic revitalisation.
‘The establishment of the Ghana Gold Board is a key step towards ensuring that Ghana maximises the full benefits of its gold resources,’ said Dr. Forson during the inauguration on Monday. The committee will develop a Bill outlining the legal foundation for the GoldBod, which is aimed at improving the gold sector’s operations, regulation, and international market presence.
GoldBod: a vision for economic transformation
The Ghana Gold Board was conceived by President John Dramani Mahama as a strategic initiative to stabilise the country’s economy and ensure better management of its gold resources. Ghana is Africa’s largest gold producer, but its gold revenues have been underutilised, often lost due to fragmented and unregulated systems.
‘This GoldBod initiative will help us formalise gold trading from small-scale miners, improving traceability and ensuring greater international acceptability,’ Dr Forson explained. The Finance Minister noted that, currently, Ghana’s gold sector lacks coordination, leading to widespread smuggling and substantial foreign exchange losses.
Once established, the GoldBod will have exclusive authority to purchase gold from the legal small-scale mining sector, through licensed aggregators and local traders. This will streamline operations and ensure that gold is purchased through formal channels, thus improving the country’s foreign exchange reserves and stabilising the local currency, the cedi.
Committee’s role in drafting the GoldBod Bill
The Technical Committee, made up of experts from various sectors, including the Bank of Ghana, the Minerals Commission, and the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), will be responsible for developing a comprehensive legal framework for the GoldBod. Their work will address the challenges in Ghana’s gold sector, such as gold smuggling, unregulated trading, and a lack of formalised export structures.
Dr Forson urged the committee members to work efficiently to accelerate the development of the Bill. ‘This is a critical project that will impact the future of Ghana’s economy,’ he stated.
Key objectives for the GoldBod
The GoldBod will aim to achieve several key objectives, including:
- Formalising the gold trade from small-scale miners and improving traceability.
- Increasing gold exports through legal and regulated channels.
- Pursuing LBMA certification to enhance Ghana’s gold market reputation internationally.
With the GoldBod, Ghana ho
pes to curb smuggling and ensure that gold traded in the country is properly regulated, optimising the value derived from its gold resources.
Stakeholders and timeline
The committee’s membership includes notable figures like Sammy Gyamfi, Acting Managing Director of PMMC, Dr Tony Aubyn, former CEO of the Minerals Commission, and Dr Abdul Baasit Aziz Bamba, a legal expert. These stakeholders will work collaboratively to ensure that the
Ghana Gold Board’s framework aligns with the country’s long-term economic goals.
Dr Forson emphasised that the government is committed to providing a revolving fund to purchase gold from small-scale miners, which is expected to further enhance the country’s forex reserves. In 2024, Ghana exported nearly $5bn worth of gold from the small-scale sector, but research indicates that the actual value of smuggled gold is nearly double that amount.
