The Member of Parliament for Damongo Constituency, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has called on Government to clarify issues relating to the proposed Gold Board.
The former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, said the concept raises more questions than answers, and the Government must come out to clarify the issues to sustain the investor confidence in the mining sector of the country.
The Gold Board is one of the governing National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) manifesto promises for the mining sector of the country.
Despite it being described as one of the Government’s top priorities for economic revitalisation, the concept still remains unclear to several actors in the mining industry.
On January 27, 2025, the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, inaugurated a technical committee to develop a framework for setting up the Gold Board.
Speaking at the inauguration, Dr. Ato Forson said the Gold Board aims to regulate the gold industry, stabilise the cedi, and maximise revenue from gold exports.
The President, John Dramani Mahama, in his maiden State of the Nation Address, also, said the Board will ensure effective governance of the gold industry.
Some of these statements have raised concerns among industry players on what will be the function of the Gold Board given that specific state institutions have been given the mandate by law to regulate this sector.
In a statement posted on his Facebook page, the former Minister responsible for the sector questioned the relevance of this proposed Gold Board.
He said the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Minerals Commission, the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) and the 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?”
Mr. Jinapor also asked whether the Government intends to take away the statutory functions of the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in the granting of licences for the export of gold, and the role the Bank of Ghana plays in the gold trade and give all to the proposed Gold Board.
This comes on the back of comments by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana that the Gold Board will take over the Bank’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme once it is established.
Also of concern to the former Minister is the suggestion that the Gold Board will be solely responsible for the purchase and export of gold, which is likely to affect private sector actors who have invested in gold trade.
He called on Government to bring more clarity to the concept and avoid duplication of the functions of state institutions.
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,” the statement said.
Mr. Jinapor noted that Ghana has come far with her mining regulatory regime which is highly respected across the globe and, therefore, nothing should be done in secrecy or surreptitiously to destroy Ghana’s hard-won reputation in this sector.
