Frank Asiedu Bekoe, Member of Parliament for Suhum constituency, has expressed disappointment with the Majority Caucus in Parliament for failing to engage with the Minority on the Gold Board Bill prior to its passage.
He asserted that the bill required adjustments, which the majority refused to allow the House to deliberate on.
Parliament recently passed the Ghana Gold Board Bill 2025, paving the way for the establishment of the Gold Board to regulate the gold industry.
The board will oversee the purchase, sale, and export of gold to improve transparency, enhance traceability, and boost foreign exchange earnings to stabilise the cedi.
The House approved the bill by a majority decision despite strong opposition from the minority, who staged a walkout.
Mr Asiedu Bekoe, speaking on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, argued that the bill will promote illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey, and that nothing has been captured in the bill.
The lawmaker stated that the government has no business in having a monopoly on the export or trade in the gold business.
The Suhum MP also raised concerns over the budgetary allocation for the Gold Board.
He told host Kwabena Agyapong that “this is a misplaced priority. The government told us it had no resources for completing the agenda of 111 hospitals. They refused to allocate any resources to complete the hospitals. While campaigning, President John Dramani Mahama promised to complete the hospitals, but in his budget, he did not provide any resources for that. But it has rather allocated money for the Gold Board. There are no dedicated funds for Agenda 111.”
He further opined that the government’s move to monopolise gold purchases from small-scale miners defeats its commitment towards the fight against galamsey.
“It is unfortunate that while this government claims to be fighting galamsey, it has rather allocated GH₵4.6 billion to galamsey operations. This amount of money will end up in the hands of illegal miners. We advised the Majority Caucus to allow us to resume from our break so that we can take our time in dealing with the Gold Board Bill. But they refused. The same government that promised to fight galamsey has now passed a bill to create a board that is essentially going to promote illegal mining.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
