Goldbod now responsible for galamsey- NPP alleges

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) of facilitating illegal gold mining through its purchasing and verification procedures, which have allowed unlicensed gold to infiltrate the nation's official gold trade. The opposition party's National Organiser, Henry Nana Boakye, claimed that GoldBod's weak gold sourcing and verification processes have contributed to the continued prevalence of illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.

Boakye questioned the effectiveness of GoldBod's methods for determining the origin of gold purchased from licensed buyers, emphasizing that the lack of a robust traceability system enables illegal mining to enter the formal trade. He posed the question, "If GoldBod is not buying galamsey gold, then who is?" to underscore the need for greater clarity on how the government-controlled institution verifies the source of purchased gold.

Boakye also criticized the repeated promises of measures to address gold traceability concerns, asserting that these assurances have not sufficiently addressed questions surrounding GoldBod's ability to identify and validate the source of gold entering the formal market. The NPP is now demanding increased transparency in GoldBod's gold procurement operations and stronger mechanisms to prevent illegal mining from infiltrating the formal trading system.