Seven African countries have visited Ghana over the past year to study how the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) manages and governs the country’s gold sector.
Delegations from Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Sudan and Namibia have travelled to Ghana to learn more about the country’s approach to regulating artisanal and small-scale gold mining and integrating miners into a formal and traceable gold trading system.
A key issue raised by the visiting countries has been how to formalise artisanal and small-scale mining (ASGM) while ensuring that small-scale miners are not excluded from the legal gold market.
African Countries Examine Ghana GoldBod Strategy
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, described the GoldBod model as a potential blueprint for sustainable reforms in Africa’s gold industry.
Meanwhile, a delegation from Tanzania’s Minerals Commission, led by Dr Theresia Numbi, said Ghana was selected after the country compared gold-sector systems in several African nations.
The delegation described Ghana as a pioneer and a potential centre of excellence for gold-sector governance on the African continent.
Namibia’s delegation also praised the Ghanaian approach, describing the GoldBod framework as robust and saying its officials could draw lessons from Ghana’s experience.
Ghana’s Gold Sector Attracts Regional Interest
Ghana established GoldBod as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s gold industry, improve regulation and create a more structured gold trading system.
The growing number of African countries studying the initiative highlights increasing regional interest in Ghana’s approach to gold governance, gold trading and small-scale mining formalisation.
The visits could also provide opportunities for African countries to exchange ideas on improving transparency, traceability and sustainability within the continent’s gold mining sector.
Source: newsthemegh.com