See how Afenyo-Markin just exposed GoldBod over illegal mining

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has raised serious concerns regarding the operations of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), arguing that its current framework inadvertently fuels illegal mining across the country.

Speaking during an engagement with the Christian Council, the lawmaker criticized the absence of clear regulatory distinctions between legally mined gold and gold sourced through illegal small-scale mining (galamsey).

He warned that without strict origin verification guidelines, gold aggregators are incentivized to purchase unregulated gold, exacerbating the nation's environmental crisis.

“The way GoldBod has been structured, it is rather encouraging the illegal mining activities we have in our country," Afenyo-Markin stated. "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," he added. "But are there some regulations to guide aggregators? Now, everybody is mining. Galamsey has gotten out of hand.”

The Minority Leader highlighted the severe ecological damage caused by unchecked mining, specifically warning that vital reserves like the Atewa Forest face imminent destruction without urgent intervention.

“If we are not careful, Atewa forest will not be there for us again,” he cautioned.

Drawing on his past experience as former Chairman of the Ghana Water Limited Board, Afenyo-Markin also sounded the alarm over the escalating costs and technical limitations of treating heavily polluted water bodies.

“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 revealed.

He called for immediate policy reforms and stricter oversight of gold trading channels to ensure that state efforts to formalize the gold market do not dismantle broader environmental protection efforts.