The acting Managing Director of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), Sammy Gyamfi, has raised concerns over the significant loss of foreign exchange Ghana is experiencing due to unregulated gold exports.
He stated that the situation continues to weaken the national currency.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Mr. Gyamfi pointed out that despite gold having the potential to generate far more revenue than cocoa, Ghana is failing to retain foreign exchange from its gold trade.
He questioned the country’s approach to gold exports, noting that unlike cocoa, which is controlled by a single exporter, gold exports are left largely unregulated.
“Cocoa in terms of value does not compare to gold. Gold can give Ghana ten times more forex than cocoa gives, but why is it that with cocoa, Ghana decided long ago to be the sole exporter, yet with gold, we allow different people to export?” he asked.
He also highlighted the negative environmental impact of gold mining and the lack of financial returns to the state, stressing that those involved in gold mining are not paying adequate royalties.
“We mine gold at great cost to the environment. Those who mine the gold don’t pay royalties. The only tax they were paying was corporate tax and a 1.5% withholding tax, and now even that 1.5% withholding tax has been removed,” he said.
Mr. Gyamfi further pointed out that once the gold is mined, it can be sold to anyone, with a large portion of the gold being smuggled out of the country. He expressed concern that the dollars from the gold exports do not return to Ghana, leaving the economy without the crucial forex it needs.
“The dollars don’t come back, and our cedi keeps getting weaker and weaker. Today, on the black market, if you want one dollar, you need more than 15 Ghana cedis. Are we not all worried?” he asked.
To address these issues, Mr. Gyamfi suggested that Ghana should centralize gold purchasing and trading through a single agency to ensure the country benefits from its gold exports and foreign exchange earnings.
“At least we can get the forex back through an agency that will centralize the purchasing and trading. Then mining will make sense,” he concluded.