The Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) has announced intentions to set up District Gold Buying Centres (DGBCs) in mining districts to promote control, transparency, and accountability in the country’s gold trading sector.
Sammy Gyamfi, Chief Executive Officer of GOLDBOD, stated that the project is part of a larger reform agenda aimed at improving gold purchase monitoring while preserving the interests of licensed buyers and the government.
Mr Gyamfi said at a meeting with the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners in Anyinam, Atiwa East District, that the centers will serve as structured markets for monitoring and recording gold purchasing operations.
“We have given them our licenses and money to purchase gold for us but there is no representation from us to monitor the purchasing agreement, so this year we have decided to introduce some reforms to make the trading transparent and beneficial to all stakeholders,” he stated.
He pointed out that stakeholder meetings resulted in the decision to make participation optional, even though the original concept called for licensed buyers to operate from the centers.
Despite this flexibility, Mr. Gyamfi warned that purchasers who opt not to operate from the centers yet engage in unfair trading practices will be subject to increased agency oversight.
“We have decided not to make it mandatory again but henceforth, we will tighten our monitoring supervision to crack the whip on anybody who engages in underpricing and hoarding,” he cautioned.
He claims that in order to guarantee openness in the process of buying gold, the centers will have members from GOLDBOD, the Minerals Commission, district or municipal assemblies, and the small-scale miners association.
“These buying centres will have representation from the Ghana Gold Board, the Minerals Commission, the District or Municipal Assemblies and the Small-scale Miners Association. This is to ensure transparency and accountability in our gold trading business,” he continued.
Additionally, Mr. Gyamfi proposed incentive packages to entice licensed buyers to use the new centers for their transactions.
The action is anticipated to resolve issues with the existing decentralised system, which makes it challenging to precisely track gold purchases from miners and confirm the operational locations of permitted buyers, allowing for income leakages and under-declaration.
GOLDBOD aims to increase price efficiency throughout Ghana’s gold value chain, decrease losses, and stop smuggling by centralising transactions through the buying centers.
Source: newsthemegh.com