The Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has indicated that the newly established Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) will be an anchor for Ghana’s economic transformation.
GOLDBOD, he emphasised, will serve as a vehicle for achieving currency stability through the structured purchasing and management of Ghana’s gold resources.
Dr. Ato Forson stated these on Monday when he inaugurated a 13-membrer Board of Directors of the GOLDBOD to drive the country’s economic revitalisation through strategic gold resource management.
The membership of the Governing Board is made up of individuals from key public and private sector institutions with expertise across mining, finance, and governance.
The Board is chaired by former Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), Mr Kojo Fynn with GOLDBOD Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr Sammy Gyamfi as a member.
Other members of the Board are Minister for Lands and National Resources, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah; Deputy Minister Finance, Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem; Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Kwesi Asiama and Mr Nelson Ahedor representing the Minerals Commission.
The rest are Mr Christopher Opoku Nyarko and Mr Godwin Nickelson Amarkh representing the interests of large-scale and small-scale miners respectively and Mr Kwaku Effah Asuahene, nominated by the Minister for Finance as a gold service provider.
President John Dramani Mahama also appointed four persons with specialist knowledge in the gold sector.
They are Member of Parliament (MP) for Daboya/Mankarigu Shaibu Mahama, Dr Abdul-Baasit Aziz-Bamba, Mrs Marietta Agyewaa Brew and and Nana Ama Amissah III.
Major milestone
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Accra, Dr Ato Forson described the establishment of the GOLDBOD as a major milestone in Ghana’s journey to transform its gold sector and stabilise its currency.
The Ghana Gold Board, he reiterated, is a flagship initiative envisioned by President Mahama for economic revitalisation.
“As Africa’s leading gold producer, Ghana derives substantial foreign exchange earnings from gold. However, the benefits accrued from this valuable mineral remain minimal, often coming at a steep environmental cost.
“Historically, Ghana’s revenues from gold have been confined to traditional sources such as royalties and taxes,” Dr Ato Forson pointed out.
According to him, the Ghanaian economy has not realised the full benefit of its gold resources, hence, the time has come for the country to expand beyond royalties and taxes by harnessing the entire value chain of gold.
“To achieve this, we must optimise every stage of the value chain—from extraction to refining, value addition and marketing, both locally and internationally.
“The Ghana Gold Board is here to serve as that specialised agency for effective marketing of our gold resources.
“This will involve the implementation of a deliberate programme to formalise gold trading from the small-scale mining industry and promote traceability with the aim of enhancing the international acceptability of gold from Ghana,” the Finance Minister emphasised.
Gold purchasing chaos over
Dr. Ato Forson announced that the erstwhile chaos in Ghana’s gold purchasing sector that prevented the nation from fully benefiting from its gold resources, has now ended.
“Hitherto, the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) had the mandate to purchase and sell gold. However, this mandate was not exclusive.
“The Bank of Ghana also used to purchase gold through PMMC and other private aggregators under initiatives such as ‘gold for forex,’ ‘gold for reserves,’ ‘gold for oil,’ and ‘gold for cash’ among others.
“Additionally, the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), despite its primary mandate to optimize mineral investment, also ventured into gold buying, incurring substantial financial losses.
“Apart from these, numerous individual Ghanaians and foreigners with export licenses and/or gold buying licenses were also active in the gold purchases and export market.
“This fragmented, uncoordinated and unregulated system led to widespread gold smuggling and deprived the state of much-needed foreign exchange.
“All of this now belongs in the past, because the Ghana GoldBod is the now the sole buyer and assayer of gold, with exclusive mandate to grant license to engage in the trade of Gold from Ghana’s small-scale mining sector,” Dr. Ato Forson recounted.
GOLDBOD, he observed, has already begun to fulfil its object and has contributed immensely to the recent stability of the Ghana Cedi through gold reserve accumulation.
Strong cedi
Dr. Ato Forson indicated that as of May 13, 2025, the Ghana cedi has solidified its position as the standout performer among global currencies, achieving a remarkable 16.7% appreciation against the US dollar year-to-date.
“This marks a significant reversal from the 13.4% depreciation observed in the same period of 2024, with the cedi earning recognition as the top-performing currency in April 2025.
“This rally stems from a robust policy framework, underpinned by synchronized monetary and fiscal measures, as well as a favorable global context.
“The central bank, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, has adopted a stringent monetary policy, complemented by aggressive liquidity sterilization.
“Concurrently, the Ministry of Finance has implemented a disciplined fiscal stance anchored around prudent public finance management,” the Finance Minister stated.
He noted that bolstering these efforts, enhanced foreign exchange inflows from gold, cocoa, and remittances, alongside a softening US dollar amid global uncertainties, have significantly driven the strength of the Ghana cedi.
“But the unprecedented performance of the Ghana cedi has not come at the cost of our safety net. In fact, our foreign exchange reserves at the Bank of Ghana reached a record-high in April 2025, surpassing targets set under the IMF-supported programme ahead of schedule.
“This underscores the sustainability of the cedi’s performance,” he added.
GOLDBOD to further strengthen the cedi
Finance Minister Ato Forson said the activities of the GOLDBOD will further strengthen the performance of the local currency.
“In fact, it will change how both the Ghana cedi and Ghana’s foreign exchange accumulation will behave in the future.
“This paradigm shift will challenge traditional models reliant on old patterns, potentially leading to inaccurate projections and missing the true potential of the cedi.
“I wish to assure the Ghanaian public and our stakeholders that the outlook for the Ghana cedi remains robust and sustainable, supported by the transformative activities of the GOLDBOD.
“I urge the newly-constituted Board to work hard to support and sustain this trajectory,” Dr Ato Forson concluded.
