Ghana's GoldBod will end up in hands of galamseyers, politically-connected individuals – Afenyo-Markin warns
“If we care about our natural resources, then we must design systems that are abuse-proof and environmentally sustainable. GoldBod, in its current form, fails that basic test,” the Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has said.
According to him, the newly established Gold Gold Board (GoldBod) is an initiative that was likely to become a tool for enriching illegal miners (galamsey operators) and politically connected individuals.
In an interview on Joy FM’s radio morning programme on Friday [May 2, 2025], Mr Afenyo-Markin said the Ghana GoldBod in its current form was a programme that could be a potential "national liability cloaked in noble intentions."
He accused the government of rolling out a high-stakes mining reform without the institutional guardrails needed to prevent exploitation, mismanagement, and environmental abuse.
The Ghana Gold Board was set up in 2025 under Act 1140 as the central body to regulate, buy, sell, assay, refine, and export gold and other precious minerals.
It replaces the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), absorbing its assets, liabilities, and workforce in line with Section 78 of the establishing Act.
GoldBod is part of the government’s attempt to formalise small-scale mining and curb the illegal gold trade.
But Afenyo-Markin in the Joy FM interview said the move will backfire "spectacularly."
“This whole idea of GoldBod is not in the national interest. We’ve seen similar schemes in the past. They start off with grand rhetoric and end up in the hands of galamseyers and politically-connected individuals,” he stated.
An environmental time bomb?
The Minority Leader questioned how a government claiming to fight illegal mining — a practice responsible for widespread deforestation, water pollution, and environmental collapse — could simultaneously introduce a policy that could easily be exploited by the very culprits it claims to be targeting.
“How do you say you’re combating galamsey and, at the same time, launch a programme that could easily be hijacked by the very actors destroying our environment?” he asked.
“Without strict regulation and independent scrutiny, GoldBod risks becoming another conduit for illegal mining and resource capture,” he warned. “It could easily mirror previous schemes that became riddled with corruption.”
He urged the government to halt the current implementation and conduct a full-scale review involving industry experts, environmental advocates, and civil society stakeholders.
