Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has accused the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) of encouraging illegal mining, arguing that its current structure does not adequately distinguish between legally mined gold and gold produced through galamsey.
Speaking during an engagement with the Christian Council, Mr Afenyo-Markin questioned the regulatory framework governing GoldBod and gold aggregators, saying the system could create incentives for illegal mining.
“The way GoldBod has been structured, it is rather encouraging the illegal mining activities we have in our country. Because you see, currently GoldBod does not have a regulation that draws a distinction between regularly mined gold and galamsey gold. So it is like whatever the aggregators bring, we will buy. But are there some regulations to guide aggregators? Now, everybody is mining. Galamsey has gotten out of hand,” he said.
Mr Afenyo-Markin said the continued spread of illegal mining posed a serious threat to Ghana’s forests and water bodies, particularly the Atewa Forest.
“If we are not careful, Atewa forest will not be there for us again,” he warned.
He also raised concerns about the growing contamination of water bodies, saying it was increasing the cost of water treatment and affecting the operations of some treatment plants.
“I once chaired the Ghana Water Limited Board. The report coming from Ghana Water is that not only is it becoming more expensive to treat the water, but the extent of contamination of our water bodies is such that some treatment plant cannot even function,” he said.
Mr Afenyo-Markin’s comments come amid continuing concerns over the impact of illegal mining on Ghana’s environment and water resources.
He said stronger regulation was needed to ensure that gold trading arrangements did not undermine efforts to combat galamsey.
