GoldBod cannot be reason for Galamsey- Senyo Hosi tells critics

A Convenor of the One Ghana Movement and the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, Senyo Hosi, has emphasized that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) cannot be blamed as a major driver of illegal mining in the country.

He argued that the illegal mining menace would persist regardless of whether GoldBod existed, stressing that the underlying problem must be addressed directly.

“One thing we should realize is that whether there is GoldBod or not GoldBod, galamsey would always happen until you deal with galamsey itself,” he explained.

According to Mr. Hosi, the existence of buyers for illegally mined gold predates GoldBod, and the establishment of the state-backed institution has simply positioned the government to capture more value from the country’s gold resources.

“GoldBod cannot be the reason because there is always a buyer for gold. All we have just done right now is that the state itself is a buyer and can actually get the benefit of it. Other than that, take out GoldBod, it will be another person next,” he stated.

Mr. Hosi’s comments come amid growing concerns over the proliferation of illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, in Ghana.

Recently, Imani’s Kofi Bentil claimed that the Ghana Gold Board was contributing to illegal mining by purchasing gold from individuals involved in illicit mining activities.

However, Mr. Hosi described the establishment of GoldBod as one of the most significant economic policy decisions taken in Ghana in the past two decades and called for the initiative to be supported.

“I commend the construct of the GoldBod. Obviously, we’ve been producing gold and moving gold out of this country without much control and accountability,” he stated.

He noted that Ghana has historically struggled to account fully for the value of gold leaving the country, pointing to significant discrepancies between Ghana’s reported exports and the quantities reported by destination countries.

“So you realize there’s a huge delta between the gold values that are reported in other countries coming from Ghana versus what we ourselves say we sent,” he added.

Mr. Hosi nevertheless expressed concern about gold smuggling and urged GoldBod and relevant state institutions to intensify efforts to eliminate the practice and ensure that Ghana derives maximum benefit from its mineral resources.