The Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Lands and Natural Resources Committee, Akwasi Konadu, has accused the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) of prioritising gold supplies over strict enforcement of mining regulations in its push to formalise unlicensed small-scale mining.
His comments follow GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi’s remarks on formalising unlicensed miners operating outside forest reserves, water bodies and other environmentally sensitive areas. Mr Konadu argues that the move is driven by concerns about declining gold production rather than a genuine commitment to sustainable mining.
Speaking on Citi News Digest on Saturday, October 24, Mr Konadu said GoldBod was struggling to secure the volume of gold it needed to purchase and sell and feared production could decline further in the coming months.
“Currently, the GoldBod is not having it easy with the amount of production of gold that they would want to get to purchase and sell. And they’re seeing the reduction coming in the near future,” he said.
He suggested that concerns about maintaining gold supplies were influencing the board’s approach to unlicensed small-scale miners, prompting it to encourage their participation in mining rather than insist on strict compliance with regulatory requirements.
Mr Konadu also expressed concern that assurances that miners would not be pursued for operating outside prohibited areas could be interpreted as an endorsement of unregulated mining, even where operators had yet to meet the requirements for lawful operations.
He maintained that the environmental damage caused by illegal mining should remain a central consideration in any policy aimed at increasing gold production.
