President John Dramani Mahama’s encounter with the media on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, has generated widespread debate in the public.

However, his answer to the question on the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), and trading of gold in the country, has drawn diverse reactions.

The president was asked whether the GoldBod could differentiate between the gold from illegal miners and that from licensed miners in the space.

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President Mahama asserted that the board could not currently differentiate between gold from registered mining and that from illegal mining.

He, however, added that at least all the proceeds from the gold traded in the country are retained; unlike previously, when, such benefits were directly going to foreign gold merchants.

“I didn’t expect that in 8 months we would declare victory in the fight against illegal mining (galamsey), as the livelihoods of about 4 million Ghanaians depend on small-scale mining. So, it's going to be a process. It's not going to be an event, but we will not give up. We are determined to get on top of the situation.

“The GoldBod was introduced as part of the reforms to streamline the operations of gold buying in the country. If the gold board was not introduced, I mean, those who were profiting from the small-scale mining sector were the foreign traders (sic). In six months, we have exported over $6 billion worth of gold. About $4 billion of that money was going to go into the pockets of foreign traders,” he said.

“So, the first thing is, you shut the stable door so that the horse doesn't escape; which is what we've done. So, if it's from illegal sources or it's from legal sources, it is retained in the country because at least it's our land that is being destroyed. So, let us get the benefit of it instead of foreign traders. So, that's the first thing,” he added.

The president also stated that one of the mandates of the board is to place a mechanism in place to track all the gold extracted in the country, which is currently being worked on.

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“But if you go and read the GoldBod Law, it has a requirement for tracking and tracing. As I speak, the GoldBod is working with an organisation to put in a track and trace system. So, they're going to see those who have legitimate license requirements, so, that they can assist them in responsible mining. In that way, we can buy that gold off them once we do track and tracing,” he stated.

He added that the country’s ability to track the trading of gold would be of great benefit because it would enable it to export under the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), which helps the country to generate more profit.





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