The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has criticised government’s establishment of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), arguing that its current mandate fails to address Ghana’s long-standing revenue challenges.
The GoldBod was created under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), passed by Parliament on March 29 and signed into law on April 2, 2025.
It is the sole authority mandated to license, regulate, and manage the export of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold, with the aim of curbing smuggling, boosting foreign exchange reserves, and improving transparency in the gold trade.
But in its assessment of the government’s 2025 mid-year fiscal policy released on Wednesday, August 20, IFS Research Fellow, Lesley Mensah, said the Board’s structure overlooks the principle that Ghana’s gold resources are publicly endowed.
According to him, while the GoldBod may generate foreign exchange through trading, its role does not fundamentally resolve the issue of national ownership of Ghana’s gold resources.
“Any commercial gains the GoldBod may generate through its operations are irrelevant here,” Mensah explained.
“By law, the gold already belongs to the state, so if all the Board is going to do is trade, it does not change the fact that the country still struggles to capture the full value of its gold.”
He further argued that the scope of the GoldBod’s operations is limited, since it excludes the large-scale mining sector, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of Ghana’s gold output.
This, he noted, weakens the Board’s ability to significantly increase government revenue.
The IFS critique adds to ongoing debates over the GoldBod Act, which government has hailed as a transformative step to protect resources, stabilize the cedi, and enhance accountability in the sector.
While some see it as a pathway to a more structured gold economy, critics say deeper reforms may be needed to ensure Ghana fully benefits from its most valuable mineral resource.
By Esinu Adza, 3BUSINESS
