The Acting Director of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) and Acting CEO of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has responded to growing concerns regarding recent staffing adjustments at PMMC.
In a media interview, Gyamfi firmly refuted allegations that current PMMC employees were being replaced by unqualified individuals. He emphasized that no permanent staff members had been affected by the recent restructuring efforts.
He acknowledged, however, that some contract staff, particularly those working at PMMC’s satellite offices and their out stations had been let go, citing purely operational reasons for these decisions.
“All permanent workers of the PMMC at the main office of the PMMC numbering over 93 are still there and are automatic staff of the GOLDBOD,” he said.
Mr. Gyamfi explained that these staffing changes are part of a wider reform initiative aimed at revitalizing Ghana’s mineral sector.
In the same interview, Sammy Gyamfi stated the Legislative Instrument (L.I) 2462 permitting mining in forest reserves will be revoked immediately after Parliament resumes.
“L.I 2462 will be revoked by the NDC/Mahama government immediately Parliament resumes. There were legal issues as to whether or not it should be amended or revoked because there is a school of thought that revoking it could lead to a certain vacuum and that what had to be cured was the discretion or power given to the president to grant mining leases for people to mine in protected forest zones.
“Then there was another school of thought that said, look, let’s revoke the entire law, even if we get a vacuum, we can come up with a new L.I…but the L. I 2462 is poisonous. It should go in its entirety. Those who made that argument have won, we are a listening government,” he said.
The minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, has also told President John Dramani Mahama to scrap the Legislative Instrument (LI 2462) which permits mining in forest reserves.
Speaking on Morning Starr Sam George stated, “I have made my personal opinion on the decision to amend the LI on mining and forest reserves. I hold the view that LI should be scrapped. It shouldn’t be amended”.
“There must be absolutely no mining in river bodies or in forest reserves. There should be no room for any discretion taken by any political appointee”.
“Illegal mining in water bodies and forest reserves is a criminal act. I don’t care who is involved in it – whether they are NDC or NPP – deal with them, arrest them, jail them”, Sam George added.
He warned that illegal mining consequences know no NDC or NPP.
Watch video:
All permanent PMMC staff are still at post – @SammyGyamfi_
Watch the full interview here: https://t.co/waXydNXbUk#PointofView with @benkoku pic.twitter.com/oyujYHZdAx
— CITI FM 97.3 (@Citi973) April 24, 2025
