GoldBod chief says NPP-era gold buyers operated without state contracts

Ghana’s gold-buying system under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration lacked formal contracts with some companies, according to Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) chief executive Sammy Gyamfi.

Mr Gyamfi said the arrangement made it difficult for the state to monitor gold transactions effectively and establish the true value of purchases being made by companies operating in the sector.

He also claimed that gold-buying companies had been allowed to adjust exchange rates in order to recover their operational costs, creating further weaknesses in the system.

Speaking during a discussion on X Spaces on Sunday, 9 August, Mr Gyamfi said the lack of contractual arrangements reduced transparency and accountability within Ghana’s gold trade.

“Gold-buying companies under the erstwhile NPP government: there was no contract, and the companies were adjusting the exchange rate to settle their costs,” he said.

The comments relate to the gold-buying regime implemented under the previous NPP government. Mr Gyamfi argued that the absence of contracts meant the state did not have sufficient control over the way companies conducted purchases or accounted for the value of gold entering the system.

GoldBod, operating under reforms introduced by President John Mahama, is intended to bring greater structure to the sector and strengthen oversight of Ghana’s gold supply chain.

As part of that programme, licensed gold-buying companies are being profiled by GoldBod. Mr Gyamfi said the exercise would help establish where the companies sourced the gold they purchased and improve traceability across the industry.

The profiling process is also intended to give the state a clearer picture of transactions taking place within the gold market. According to Mr Gyamfi, that information will support efforts to improve accountability and ensure that activity in the sector can be more effectively monitored.

He said the reforms were not limited to the licensing and monitoring of gold buyers. GoldBod is also seeking to increase the volume of Ghanaian gold refined inside the country.

The aim is to allow Ghana to retain a larger share of the economic benefits created through refining, rather than losing that value abroad. Mr Gyamfi said increasing local refining would help ensure that more of the value associated with the country’s mineral resources remained within Ghana.

He maintained that the new system would correct shortcomings in the previous gold-buying arrangement by creating clearer processes for companies, improving the traceability of gold and strengthening the state’s ability to account for transactions.

The GoldBod chief said the broader objective was to ensure that Ghana secured greater value from its gold resources through a system based on stronger oversight, transparency and accountability.