The Minority in Parliament has raised serious concerns over the government’s Gold for Reserves policy, warning that flaws in its execution could expose Ghana to financial losses and fuel illegal mining activities.
Citing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report that put losses at approximately US$214 million as of September 2025, the minority accused the government of poor coordination between the Gold Board and the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Parliament, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo Markin explained that the dual role of the Gold Board—as both regulator and operator—could inadvertently encourage illegal mining, locally referred to as “galamsey,” which continues to pollute major water bodies. He stated:
“Ladies and gentlemen, let me also address the issue of gold for reserves. We are not in any way opposed to that policy because the policy was started by us. We, the minority, are again not opposed to the institutionalization of a new vehicle to see to the implementation of that all-important policy.
“However, we have two major concerns. Concern number one, the establishment of the Gold Board as a regulator and also an operator is in a way directly encouraging galamsey activities. Our water bodies have been polluted,” he said.
He added that organized labour had previously sounded the alarm, noting that galamsey operations had worsened. The Minority Leader criticised what he described as a lack of genuine government commitment to tackling illegal mining.
“This government has failed to provide tangible evidence of its commitment in the fight against galamsey. It is clear that they are always involved in a PR gimmick, looking at the optics rather than the substance. They are interested in short-term gains, and today we don’t know whether the Gold Board makes a distinction between regularly mined gold or illicit gold.
“All we know is that they are talking about their success story, the amount of gold, or the tons of gold they have purchased, yet they fail to tell us whether there are measures to fight against illicit gold that is mined through galamsey activities. We are concerned because the future of this country is at stake, and the earlier this government takes steps to protect the future of Ghana, the better,” he stated.
The minority also raised alarm over reported financial losses linked to the programme, which the IMF estimated at US$240 million as of September 2025. Afenyo Markin insisted that the Central Bank must share responsibility rather than placing the blame solely on the Gold Board.
“There seems to be some confusion between the Gold Board and the Central Bank, but we want to tell the Central Bank: participating in the activities, being part of the feast, and when there are issues, you run away and want to put the blame squarely at the feet of the Gold Board will not wash.
“The IMF says that the losses came because the Bank of Ghana failed to protect our funds. How can you give money to the Gold Board to buy gold, and they make losses because of exchange rate differences? How can you be paying fees that by law you are not entitled to pay? How can there ever be a justification that in rolling out a policy there is an economic cost?”
The minority urged immediate action to prevent further losses and highlighted ongoing discussions between the Central Bank and the Gold Board to recalibrate the artisanal mining model.
“Though we’ve become aware that there was a joint board meeting between the Central Bank and the Gold Board as a result of the concerns raised by the Minority, of which there was a conclusion that the artisanal mining model should now go for 9.75 for bullion and 9.55 for unprocessed gold, which is a reduction from the previous 15%.
“Much as this is commendable, we still think there are still losses that would have to be considered. We are also aware that the Central Bank is saying it wants to give some moratorium of one month to allow for further deliberations amongst the various parties,” he said.
Afenyo-Markin has urged the government to safeguard Ghana’s economic and diplomatic independence in the face of global economic shifts, stressing that the country can no longer rely on traditional narratives of mutual benefit.
“Ghana can no longer depend on traditional narratives of mutual benefit, as global economic structures are increasingly being used as tools of political and financial pressure.”
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