Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, says President John Mahama’s administration has “reset” Ghana’s gold sector by introducing reforms aimed at strengthening local refining, value addition and the management of the country’s gold resources.

According to him, the changes have enhanced Ghana’s capacity to refine gold locally and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign refineries.

Speaking on X Spaces on Sunday, August 9, Mr Gyamfi said Ghana is now better positioned to derive greater value from its status as one of Africa’s leading gold-producing countries.

“President Mahama has reset Ghana’s gold sector. Had it not been that, Ghana would not have had an LBMA refinery that was called Gold Coast. It was only South Africa that had it, but now Ghana also has it,” he said.

Mr Gyamfi maintained that the government’s approach is intended to ensure that Ghana does not merely produce and export gold, but retains more of the economic benefits associated with refining and other value-added activities.

GoldBod established in 2025

The Ghana Gold Board was established in 2025 as one of the Mahama administration’s flagship economic initiatives to restructure and streamline the trading of gold and other precious minerals.

Parliament passed the Ghana Gold Board Bill on March 28, 2025, and President Mahama assented to the legislation on April 2, 2025, bringing the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140) into force.

GoldBod subsequently took over the rights, obligations, assets, liabilities and workforce of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC). It operates under the oversight of the Ministry of Finance.

The institution has exclusive authority over key aspects of Ghana’s gold trade, including buying, selling, weighing, grading, assaying, valuing and exporting gold and other precious minerals.

According to GoldBod, its vision is to become a world-class gold trading organisation that promotes sustainability, traceability and value addition to support economic transformation.

Its mission includes regulating and undertaking gold trading, assaying and exports, promoting value addition, combating gold smuggling and supporting small-scale miners and sustainability initiatives. The ultimate objective is to generate foreign exchange for Ghana and support the Bank of Ghana's accumulation of gold reserves.

The government had earlier explained that GoldBod was conceived partly to address what it described as a fragmented gold trading system that contributed to smuggling and deprived the country of foreign exchange earnings.

Mr Gyamfi maintains that the reforms, including efforts to strengthen domestic refining, form part of a broader strategy to ensure that Ghana captures a greater share of the value generated from its gold resources.