Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, has rejected claims that the newly established state body is fuelling illegal mining (galamsey), insisting that it is unfair to blame a five-month-old institution for a problem that has existed for decades.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Mr. Gyamfi said galamsey predated the Gold Board by many years and had already reached “unprecedented and alarming levels” before the Board’s creation.
“Let me clear some misconceptions. How can a five-month-old statutory corporation be responsible for an age-long galamsey problem? Last year there was no GoldBod, but we still saw massive protests against galamsey,” he argued.
GoldBod’s Legal Mandate
Mr. Gyamfi explained that the Gold Board Act assigns the corporation a supportive role—promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly mining—not direct enforcement.
“The mandate to fight galamsey lies with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and its allied agencies. Parliament only asked GoldBod to support the fight,” he clarified.
Early Achievements
Despite being barely five months old, GoldBod has already made key interventions:
GH₵5 million cash support to the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat.
Five Toyota Hilux vehicles donated to boost field operations.
Mr. Gyamfi said these contributions have strengthened the national anti-galamsey task force, leading to a “renewed fight all over the country.”
“GoldBod was established to be part of the solution. We are channeling resources into the fight, not encouraging galamsey,” he stressed.
Bottom Line
The Gold Board boss maintained that critics are misdirecting blame.
“How can the same GoldBod—created to support the fight and already providing money and logistics—be accused of promoting galamsey?” he questioned.
Mr. Gyamfi urged the public to judge the Board by its mandate and actions, not by long-standing problems it was formed to help solve.
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