The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Mr Sammy Gyamfi, has assured that the newly created agency is fully prepared to restore order and transparency to Ghana’s gold trade.

According to him, GoldBod will achieve this by streamlining operations and clamping down on illegal smuggling activities that have long plagued the sector.

Speaking at the Mining in Motion Summit on Monday, 9 June, Mr Gyamfi stated that extensive consultations with stakeholders revealed overwhelming support for the establishment of a single, central body to oversee the gold trade.

“All the patriotic Ghanaians we engaged and the various civil society organisations saw GoldBod as an imperative—an urgent imperative—to stop this mess,” he remarked.

He noted that the gold trading landscape prior to GoldBod’s formation was fragmented, with various state agencies purchasing gold independently and with little coordination.

This, he explained, created significant loopholes in regulation which were frequently exploited by smugglers.

“We now have a central agency streamlining and structuring gold trading, licensing all players involved in the trade and ensuring that everybody adheres to one common code of conduct—on responsible sourcing, legal exports, and so on,” he added.

Mr Gyamfi further emphasised that this unified and regulated approach will not only eliminate malpractice but also enable the country to retain vital foreign exchange revenues from gold exports.

“This ensures that we are able to get the forex associated with the gold we buy and the revenue that we desperately need for the development of the country,” he stressed.

GoldBod was established under the GoldBod Act, 2025 (Act 1140), as part of the government’s broader economic revitalisation plan.

The initiative aims to curb gold smuggling, promote responsible trade practices, and boost Ghana’s foreign reserves through improved oversight and transparency in the gold sector.