Patrick Boamah blasts Goldbod over rigged gold prices
A member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Patrick Boamah, has raised serious concerns about Ghana’s current gold trade regime, led by Goldbod, describing it as opaque, exploitative, and inconsistent with fair market principles.
According to the Okaikwei Central MP, recent developments in the gold trade sector raise urgent questions about transparency and fairness, particularly regarding the pricing mechanisms used by Goldbod, the state-designated gold aggregator.
Mr Boamah alleged that the company’s daily pricing is based on the interbank exchange rate, a method he described as deeply unfair to local miners.
He argued that no global commodity is priced using the interbank rate, which is often manipulated below market value.
He further claimed that the Bank of Ghana appears complicit in this pricing scheme by deliberately pegging the cedi lower than the Bloomberg market rate, thereby suppressing the value of gold bought from Ghanaian miners.
“This is a clear attempt to short-change miners and undermine local investment in the gold sector,” he said.
Boamah also criticised what he described as an atmosphere of secrecy and intimidation surrounding gold trading operations under the current administration.
He alleged that national security operatives have been deployed to enforce the new system, resulting in the harassment and brutalisation of small-scale miners and gold traders across the country.
“Gold trading is now happening in the shadows. Is this the ‘Reset’ Ghanaians were promised by President Mahama?” he asked.
The MP called for immediate protection of the small-scale mining sector, which he noted is largely driven by local Ghanaian investors. Without urgent reform, he warned, the sector risks total collapse.
Boamah also questioned the practice of issuing two different prices for gold purchases on the same day, calling it economically illogical and lacking transparency.
He further challenged Goldbod to justify why it pays so-called ‘bonuses’ for gold, instead of simply offering a fair and consistent price.
“If Goldbod can afford to pay bonuses, why not just pay the proper price outright? What’s the purpose of this price manipulation?” he asked.
“The government and Goldbod must come clean.”
Boamah’s remarks come amid growing criticism of the Mahama administration’s handling of the mining and extractives sector, with stakeholders demanding transparency, fairness, and better protections for local players in the gold value chain.