The Parliament of Ghana on Friday, March 28, 2025, passed the Ghana Gold Board Bill 2025 by a majority vote.
The passage occurred without the participation of Minority MPs, who boycotted the proceedings in protest. Their walkout was in response to First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor’s refusal to grant their request to reconvene on Saturday, March 29, at 10 a.m. to further deliberate on the bill after the approval of the 2025 Appropriation Bill.
The bill aims to regulate the gold industry, enhance transparency and traceability, and boost foreign exchange earnings. It establishes the Gold Board to oversee the purchase, sale, and export of gold, generating revenue to help stabilize the cedi.
However, the Minority contended that the legislation could encourage illegal mining, locally known as galamsey.
Despite this, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga praised the bill as a landmark piece of legislation.
The NDC in their manifesto ahead of the December 7, 2024 elections promised to establish the GoldBod to regulate the small-scale mining sector.
Sammy Gyamfi the acting CEO of the Precious Mineral and Marketing Commission, has been tasked to lead the formation of the GoldBod.
This new institution will regulate the gold sector, curb smuggling, and promote responsible gold trade.
Sammy Gyamfi also stated that the suggested GoldBod framework will mean only a single state-backed entity will have the authority to export gold from Ghana.
Speaking on JOYNEWS Sammy Gyamfi stated, “The unstructured, unregulated system led to a situation where we were not getting the forex we are supposed to get as a nation, from the gold we export from Ghana”.
“If the person wants to export through legal means, he loses out completely. So most of these people, especially the foreigners, they buy to smuggle, and when they smuggle, the state is deprived or denied of the forex,” he added.
He further added, “So under the GoldBod, no one can export gold except the GoldBod, and once we are the ones exporting, all the dollars will come back”.
“When you have GoldBod, you buy the gold, you export the gold. When you export the gold that same day, you get 90% of the dollars in the country. It’s in your account at the Bank of Ghana.
“So we don’t have to wait for 30 days for an exporter, a private person, to bring us dollars. Because it is GoldBod, once we export that same day, we get 90 to 95% of the dollars, and within 48 hours, the remainder of the dollars come,” Sammy Gyamfi assured.
