In the early hours of Saturday, March 29, the Parliament of Ghana passed a landmark legislation that seeks to regulate and restructure the gold market with the primary objective of maximising foreign exchange inflows and enhance the gold reserve accumulation of the country. The Bill, which was treated under a certificate of emergency was taken through the various stages of legislation in one day amidst debate among Members of Parliament (MPs) on the principles underpinning that piece of legislation. Acting Managing Director of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), Sammy Gyamfi has debunked claims that the Gold Board Bill was rushed through Parliament. According to him, the Bill was taken through an elaborate consultative process involving stakeholders including Chamber of Bullion Traders, Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners, Ghana Chamber of Mines, Gold Dealers under PMMC and Civil Society Organisations in the Extractive Sector among others at various forums in Accra and key mining regions across the country.

The establishment of the Gold Board (“GoldBod”) became necessary following the piloting of a gold buying programme by the central bank in a bid to boost the country’s reserves and generate foreign exchange for international trade particularly in the importation of petroleum products. The “gold for oil” programme was introduced during the final term of the erstwhile administration as a stop gap measure to dwindling foreign exchange reserves at the Bank of Ghana in the face of turbulent oil sector which affected prices at the pump.

The government noted in a memorandum sent to Parliament that Ghana as the leading exporter of gold in Africa does not derive optimal benefits from gold. In 2024, the total value of gold exports from Ghana was about $11.5 billion, with the small-scale mining sector contributing about $4.6 billion representing 40% while large mining companies accounted for $6.9 billion in exports representing 60%. Despite Ghana’s position in Africa and the world, revenue accumulated from gold has largely been reduced to royalties and taxes with minimal benefits from the trading of gold in itself.

While there was consensus on the establishment of the ‘GoldBod’ in Parliament, the Minority New Patriotic Party made a series of attempts to delay the passage of the Bill. The parliamentary group eventually staged a walkout at consideration stage as the bill was subjected to a clause by clause discussion. After a labourious process of debating each clause one after the other, the Gold Board Bill was passed by Parliament in the early hours of Saturday, March 29, now awaiting presidential assent. The Ghana Gold Board will regulate and restructure the gold market replacing the existing PMMC with an expanded mandate. Writing on social networking platform “X” to clear misconceptions about the Gold Board, Mr. Gyamfi asserted that GoldBod will serve as a monopoly in gold trading and export, however, “the regulating function of the Goldbod relates only to its own licensed agents and not competitors” to ensure compliance with the Act of Parliament.

In the legislation, a person is prohibited from gold trading and marketing in Ghana unless licenced by the Gold Board which will determine the mode of operations for the activities permitted by law. For small-scale miners duly licenced to carry out their operations, the Gold Board will earmark funds from its profits to support them each year. The earmarked funds are to be used to provide concessional funds, grants and guarantees to licensed small-scale miners to improve the operations of small-scale miners and facilitate the provision of modern and environmentally sustainable mining equipment and tools among others. Other functions of GoldBod include a Gold Board Tribunal which shall be constituted on an ad-hoc basis; initial dispute resolution committee to investigate and hear disputes; and a strong anti-smuggling enforcement measures.