Former Finance Minister Dr. Amin Adam is alleging that the amount of money allocated for the GOLDBOD initiative by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) is a create, loot, and share agenda.
He was speaking on behalf of the minority caucus after the 2025 budget statement presentation on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson announced that a total of $279 million has been allocated as a “revolving fund for the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) to purchase and export at least 3 tonnes of gold per week from small-scale miners.”
Dr. Forson said the government is establishing the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) with a primary objective to support foreign exchange inflows and gold reserve accumulation for the benefit of our dear country.
To achieve this, the GOLDBOD shall regulate, oversee, monitor, and undertake the purchasing, assaying, refining, exporting, selling, and other related activities concerning the gold resources of Ghana, he explained.
The Ghana Gold Board will be mandated to regulate and streamline the sector.
It will act as the sole buyer of gold from the legal small-scale mining sector through licensed aggregators and local traders.
The GoldBod will also have exclusive legal rights as the sole assayer, seller, and exporter of gold purchased from small-scale miners.
But the minority has raised concerns over the initiative, stating that “we (NPP government) have never funded the gold purchase program or the gold-for-oil scheme from the budget; it has never happened. So, to fund the GOLDBOD from the budget, in our view, is simply putting money in the hands of NDC cronies. It is about creating, looting, and sharing.
The NPP lawmaker maintained that “we believe this is about creating, looting, and sharing, and we will resist it.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
