According to the caucus, although the government earlier announced a $279 million allocation to support the Board’s establishment and operations, a Right to Information (RTI) response from the Ministry of Finance shows that no funds have been released to the institution since it was created.
This revelation, the Minority argues, raises serious concerns about how the Board is currently being financed and operating.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament, the Chairperson of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee, Patrick Boamah, questioned the government’s transparency regarding the Board’s activities and compliance with its legal obligations.
“If you go to the Gold Board’s website right now, you will not find anything as contained in the Act,” he said. “The Gold Board came into being in April. And if April, May, June, July, August — we’ve gone way past a quarter — all this information ought to be there.
“We hear of the Gold Board appointing brand ambassadors, delivering or supplying pickups to institutions and what have you. But what the law requires them to do under Section 42 hasn’t been complied with.”
Mr. Boamah warned that the situation is troubling, especially given the ongoing national and international efforts to address illegal mining.
“It is very dangerous, especially where the World Bank, the European Union, and other institutions are talking about where Ghana is headed, particularly in the fight against galamsey,” he said.
“Even in the Gold Board’s own Act, which talks about sourcing and treasury, we must ask — where is the Gold Board getting all this gold from? Is it from responsible mining, from small-scale miners, or from galamsey sites?”
