Reserve 5% of gold for local production - Jewellers Association to stakeholders

The Ghana Association of Jewellers (GAJ) has called for five per cent of gold produced in the country to be reserved for the local manufacturing sector. 

This is to make available enough gold materials to the local sector for value addition and increase the production of gold products in the country.

The President of the GAJ, Jonathan Ababio, who made the call, stated that Ghana had cemented its place as the leading producer of gold in Africa.

However, the prices of its products were relatively high as compared to those sold on the international market.

That, he blamed on the export of all gold mined in the country overseas, leaving the local manufacturing sector hungry for materials to work with.

“So once there is a continuous supply of all gold mined to jewellers down here I believe we would be at par with the western market based on prices to meet the needs of our customers” he said. 

Local industry starving

 At the launch of the Gold Statement 2023 conference in Accra yesterday, Mr Ababio said in 2021, Ghana exported $5.29 billion of gold, making the country the 19th largest exporter of gold in the world.

In the second quarter of last year, the value of gold exports from Ghana reached about $1.64 billion, he quoted the Statista, a global statitical database platform.

The situation, the GAJ President indicated, had impacted production in the local industry, causing high production cost and price hikes due to the unavailability of the precious minerals. 

The conference is an annual event to exhibit materials made from gold and other precious materials while holding a dialogue with stakeholders, including policymakers on the sustainable pathways to value addition of precious minerals mined in the country.

It is also to showcase and promote the craftsmanship of Ghanaian jewellers and goldsmiths to the public and possible investors.

This year’s four-day event is scheduled to start on Thursday, November 23, and climaxed with a gold gala on Saturday, November 25.

It is organised by Rapport Services in partnership with the GAJ and other participating sponsors. 

Improvement

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rapport Services, Judy Nakuor Crayem, said she was expectant that this year’s conference would be an improvement on the previous event as they had formed linkages with the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) who were coming on board, having been convinced by the significance of the conference to the industry.

She stated that participants from Eastern, Southern and Northern Africa, as well as West Africa would also be joining to showcase some of the most beautiful gemstones and jewellery from the continent.

“As announced last year, the lapidary workshop structure for training of young women and men in the art of gemstone cutting and polishing would be completed by the end of this month.

The next step is to install the necessary equipment,” she disclosed.

Mrs Crayem added that the construction of a Gold and Jewellery Park in Accra to serve as a centre for gold producers and the jewellery industry was in progress.

 “Ghana is well endowed with precious minerals and gemstones and we are making every effort to stamp our presence on the world's stage by growing the necessary linkages here in Africa, the Diaspora and the world at large”, she said.

Standards

The CEO of the Ghana Standards Authority, Professor Alexander Dodoo, commended the organisers for their strides as he described it as a relentless battle in promoting the gold and jewellery industry in the country and across its borders.

He stated that through the industry’s collaborative efforts and partnerships, the standards of testing gold and jewellery had been extended as he was looking forward to improvement.

“So we are looking forward to having people come to Accra to buy gold rather than going to Dubai to buy Ghana gold so that we build our industry and be noticed all over the world for the finest gold and its pieces,” Prof. Dodoo said.