Mining and energy expert, Ing. Wisdom Gomashie, has accused the government and the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) of attempting to downplay the role played by the previous administration and the Ghana Chamber of Mines in Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchasing Programme.
According to him, the policy did not begin under the current government, as some political communicators are trying to suggest.
He argued that the programme was already operational in 2022 during the administration of former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, with major mining companies agreeing to sell part of their gold output to the Bank of Ghana in cedis.
Ing. Gomashie stated that mining companies such as Gold Fields, which operates the Damang mine, were already participating in the programme through the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
He claimed that attempts by GoldBod to present the recent sale of gold from the Damang mine under state arrangements as a new achievement amount to political propaganda.
He warned that the government could use the ongoing developments as justification to take control of other mining concessions in a manner he described as non-transparent.
Reports from 2022 show that the Bank of Ghana launched the Domestic Gold Purchasing Programme to increase Ghana’s gold reserves and stabilise the cedi.
The programme involved agreements with members of the Ghana Chamber of Mines to sell a portion of their gold output to the central bank in local currency.
Documents from Gold Fields’ 2022 annual report also confirmed that the company sold about 26,000 ounces of gold to the Bank of Ghana in Ghana cedis under the programme.
Recent reports also indicate that the government has expanded the policy through GoldBod, increasing the share of gold expected from mining firms from 20 percent to 30 percent as part of efforts to strengthen Ghana’s reserves and support the local currency.
Ing. Gomashie has therefore called for transparency and fairness in the management of Ghana’s mining sector, warning against what he described as politically motivated interference in the industry.
