The country has followed various statements by Government Officials about the establishment of a Gold Board. President John Mahama says this new ‘creature’ will “ensure effective governance of the gold industry,” and the Finance Minister has gone as far as constituting a technical committee to fashion out a framework for the establishment of this body.
Gold is Ghana’s leading precious mineral, and through dint of hard work by the Akufo-Addo administration, Ghana is today, by far, Africa’s leading producer of gold. Through numerous interventions including the innovative Gold4Oil Programme and the establishment of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Ghana has leveraged her gold resources for national economic growth.
The regulatory framework for our mineral resources in general, and gold in particular, is set out in several legislation, including, but not limited to, the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) and the various Regulations made under it.
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Minerals Commission, MIIF and Bank of Ghana are the principal agencies of state responsible for regulating the exploitation, management and utilisation of our gold resources, and proceeds therefrom.
So now, what will be the mandate of this proposed Gold Board?
How will it co-exist with the time-tested and cardinal institutions such as the Minerals Commission?
Will the Minister responsible for Lands and Natural Resources lose his/her statutory mandate to grant export licenses for gold export?
What will be the role of the Central Bank in this new Gold Board arrangement?
MIIF is responsible for receiving royalties and other revenue that accrue to the State from the exploitation of our minerals. What, then, will become of MIIF in the light of this new Gold Board?
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana has, today, Monday, March 3, 2025, suspended the Gold4Oil Programme, and there are speculations that it will be replaced with this new Gold Board. If so, what will be the contours of this arrangement?
The suggestion is that this new body will be responsible for the purchase and export of gold from our country. What then becomes of the numerous private sector actors who have invested heavily in the gold trade?
While it is welcoming to implement additional measures and/or interventions to have maximum benefit from our mineral resources, it is, also, important not to duplicate the mandate of institutions, which are already performing these functions.
I am afraid that there are so many questions than answers with regard to this Gold Board concept and the earlier the Government comes out to clarify what this ‘creature’ represents and seeks to do, the better for our mineral resource regulatory regime.
Ghana has come far with her mining regulatory regime and is highly respected across the globe and, therefore, nothing should be done in secrecy or surreptitiously to destroy her hard-won reputation in this consequential sector of our economy.
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The writer is the Damongo MP and former Lands and Natural Resources Minister
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