By Paul Mamattah
The Ghana GoldBoard (GoldBod) has officially revoked all gold trading licences previously issued by the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
The GoldBoard also issued a stern warning to individuals and entities involved in gold trading without the appropriate license, stressing that the June 21 deadline for mandatory compliance with centralized gold purchasing regulations will not be extended.
Speaking at a media briefing in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana GoldBoard, Sammy Gyamfi, made it clear that only Ghanaian citizens who have undergone the required due process and obtained a license from the Ghana Gold Board can now legally engage in gold trading across the country.
“What that simply means is that if you are not licensed by the Ghana GoldBoard, you are committing a crime. I am cautioning persons who have not applied for the GoldBoard’s license to do so, or face the full rigours of the law.” He emphasized.
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Furthermore, he revealed that a new security task force, endowed with powers akin to police officers, will be unveiled by President Mahama.
According to Mr. Gyamfi, the task force has been granted powers equivalent to those of police officers and has been specifically mandated to combat gold smuggling and price manipulation, which cost the state vital revenue and foreign exchange.
“Anybody who wants to trade in gold can apply for a GoldBoard license at any time. Once you apply, we will consider your application in a spirit of fairness and transparency,” he assured.
The GoldBoard CEO highlighted the success of the new measures, stating that over 300 applications for the buyer license tier one were received by the June 21st deadline.
He announced that in the past month alone, the GoldBoard facilitated the injection of no less than $900 million in foreign exchange into the Bank of Ghana, contributing significantly to the Bank’s forex liquidity, market stability, government obligations, and the strengthening of the Cedi.
This stands in stark contrast to the entirety of 2024, which saw gold exports totaling 66 stones.
Mr. Gyamfi expressed optimism in sustaining this positive trend.
To ensure the integrity of the new task force, measures such as technology integration, attractive incentive packages, and robust whistleblower systems have been implemented to prevent compromise among its members.
