The government of Ghana will begin selling gold seized from illegal mining operations and use the proceeds to finance the restoration of degraded lands and polluted water bodies, Senior Presidential Advisor Joyce Bawah Mogtari has disclosed.
Speaking on Woezor TV on Sunday, April 20, Ms. Bawah Mogtari said the initiative forms part of efforts by the Ghana Gold Board to sanitize the gold trade and ensure that gold obtained through unregulated mining activities does not enter the formal market.
“The Gold Board is working to ensure that gold mined illegally is tracked and prevented from reaching legal trading platforms,” she said, noting that a blockchain tracking system has been implemented to trace the source of all gold traded in the country.
She explained that proceeds from the sale of gold confiscated through this tracking system would go directly toward reclaiming lands and cleaning water bodies that have been devastated by illegal mining, known locally as galamsey.
“We face serious environmental challenges – our rivers are polluted, and our forests are vanishing. But I’m encouraged by the number of young people developing solutions to restore these vital resources,” she added.
Ms. Bawah Mogtari likened the strategy to the global response to conflict diamonds, where strict certification schemes were introduced to block the sale of diamonds from war zones.
“The global community took a stand against blood diamonds. Those diamonds were denied access to international markets, and it helped clean up the trade. We want to replicate that same approach here with gold,” she said.
Ghana exports an estimated $5 billion worth of gold annually, but a significant portion of that is suspected to originate from illegal mining, providing little to no benefit to the state or local communities.
“That is what we must put a stop to,” she stressed. “We don’t want to keep exporting gold that doesn’t benefit the people or the environment.”
She added that the Ghana Gold Board is already making significant strides, and the initiative has received support from key industry stakeholders.
“So far, the Board has taken impressive steps, and since those within the industry are on board, I believe we should all support this effort,” she concluded.
