Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Boamah, has raised serious concerns about the pricing practices of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), a key player in Ghana’s gold trade sector.According to the MP, the board’s operations lack transparency, fairness, and are undermining the livelihoods of local miners.
In a statement Mr. Boamah accused GoldBod of adopting pricing policies that short-change small-scale miners, destabilise the market, and are enforced through intimidation by national security operatives.
At the heart of the MP’s concerns is Goldbod’s decision to use the interbank exchange rate to price gold daily. Boamah described this as “a rip-off,” arguing that no commodity in Ghana is priced using this rate for trade purposes.
“Even government payments for foreign currency–denominated goods and services do not use the interbank rate as the basis for transactions. So why gold?” Boamah asked.
He further alleged that the Bank of Ghana has been manipulating the exchange rate by keeping the interbank rate below Bloomberg’s USD rate, thereby eroding the value miners receive for their gold. “This practice short-changes miners and undermines their investment in the gold mining business,” he stated.
Boamah also questioned Goldbod’s move to issue two different gold prices daily, calling the practice economically unjustifiable and opaque.
“Which commodity in the same market, for the same players, is sold at dual prices?” he queried. “This strongly suggests that Goldbod and the government are concealing the true and fair price of gold in Ghana.”
He argued that instead of offering “bonuses” to miners, Goldbod should be transparent and pay the correct market value upfront. “Why maintain different prices for the same commodity? Goldbod and the government must come clean,” he insisted.
Perhaps most alarming are Boamah’s claims that national security operatives are being deployed to enforce Goldbod’s controversial pricing regime. He alleged that miners and gold traders across the country are being harassed, intimidated, and even brutalised.
“To justify and enforce this opaque market system introduced by Goldbod, the government has unleashed national security operatives whose task has been to intimidate and brutalise poor miners and traders,” he stated.
According to Boamah, gold trading is now being forced into secrecy. “Gold trading is now conducted under the cover of darkness and secrecy. Is this the ‘Reset’ promised by JDM?” he asked, in a jab at the current administration’s slogan.
Boamah warned that the small-scale mining sector, which is predominantly driven by Ghanaian investment, is at risk of total collapse if immediate reforms are not undertaken.
“This sector needs urgent protection before it collapses completely,” he said, calling on the government to intervene, halt the abuse of power, and restore fairness and transparency to Ghana’s gold trade.
