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Saturday, August 30, 2025

Patrick Boamah: Goldbod’s ‘Rip-off’ policies threaten collapse of small-scale mining

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Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, Hon. Patrick Boamah, has issued a dire warning that the small-scale mining sector is on the brink of collapse. He attributes this crisis to what he describes as the unfair and opaque pricing and enforcement strategies of the Ghana Gold Board (Goldbod).

Hon. Boamah accused Goldbod and the government of undermining fair play and transparency, citing three key concerns that he says demand urgent answers.

Also Read: Patrick Boamah hails MIIF as model of Public Sector Management in 2024

Rip-off

The MP’s primary concern is Goldbod’s practice of using the interbank exchange rate to value gold. He labelled this policy a ‘rip-off’, arguing that no other commodity is traded using this rate, and it is unfair and exploitative.

He further alleged that the Bank of Ghana is complicit, deliberately pegging the interbank rate below the Bloomberg USD reference rate, which he claims short-changes miners and weakens their investments.

Additionally, Mr. Boamah questioned the rationale behind Goldbod’s practice of issuing two different gold prices each day. He called this economically illogical and a deliberate attempt to obscure the true value of gold.

“Which commodity in the same market, for the same players, is sold at dual prices?” he asked, suggesting that if Goldbod can afford to pay bonuses, they should be able to declare and pay the correct market price outright.

The Okaikwei Central MP further accused the government of using national security operatives to intimidate miners and traders.

This, he claimed, is an attempt to enforce a flawed and opaque pricing regime through fear.

The MP lamented that the situation has led to gold trading being conducted under the cover of darkness and secrecy, and questioned whether this was the reset that President John Mahama promised.

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