President John Dramani Mahama has announced a lucrative 10 per cent gold or cash reward for whistleblowers whose information would lead to the arrest of syndicates involved in illegal gold trade.
At the launch of the Gold Board Task Force in Accra yesterday, President Mahama said government would not compromise on brutally dealing with anyone who would be caught in illegal gold trade.
“Let this serve as a warning to all those involved in gold smuggling and illegal trade: the law will be enforced without fear or favour. The Gold Board Act prohibits unlicensed trading and bans foreigners from purchasing gold on the local market.
“Any breach of this Act could lead to a hefty fine of up to GH¢2.4 million or imprisonment of 5-10 years, or both,” the President stated.
President Mahama’s warning comes on back of recent arrests made by the national security of some Indian and Chinese nationals for allegedly engaging in illegal gold trade and smuggling activities.
The Gold Board Task Force is made up of personnel drawn from the military, police and national security. They have undergone rigorous vetting, polygraph testing, orientation on the Gold Board Act, and completed intensive team-building and anti-corruption training.
All members of the Task Force would wear body cameras, vehicles GPS-tracked and monitored in real time and a written warrant from the CEO is required before any field operation.
“Let me be clear: abuse of authority will not be tolerated. Any officer found engaging in misconduct will face immediate sanctions, including dismissal, prosecution, and forfeiture of all entitlements,” President Mahana told members of the Task Force.
“You have been entrusted with extraordinary responsibility. Serve with honour. Uphold the values of integrity, professionalism, and discipline. This assignment is not business as usual. It is a matter of national duty and pride. Breaches of your oath will be met with swift and lawful consequences. The Ghanaian people are watching, and so is the world.”
According to President Mahama, Ghana, despite being the leading gold producer in Africa and the sixth largest globally, for too long, the country has failed to derive commensurate benefits from this God-given resource.
“Through GOLDBOD, we are asserting national sovereignty over our mineral wealth and introducing a paradigm shift from raw extraction to value retention,” he stated.
President Mahama disclosed that a recent report has revealed that a 229 metric tonne discrepancy between Ghana’s official export records and the import records of trading partners, amounted to over US$11.4 billion in losses over five years.
“This cannot continue. The Ghana Gold Board was established to dismantle the black-market economy surrounding gold, and today’s inauguration of the GOLDBOD Task Force signals our readiness to act decisively,” President Mahama stated.
The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, revealed that during the peak of Ghana’s economic challenges in 2022, approximately 60 tonnes of gold valued at around US$1.2 billion were illegally smuggled out of the country.
This loss occurred at a time when Ghana’s foreign reserves stood at less than US$300 million making the smuggled amount nearly half of the bailout funds Ghana was seeking, he explained.
Since the establishment of the Gold Board, however, Dr Forson said gold from small scale mining has exceeded large scale mining for the first time.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
