Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has accused the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) of encouraging illegal mining, arguing that its current structure does not clearly distinguish between legally mined gold and gold produced through galamsey.
Speaking during an engagement with the Christian Council, Afenyo-Markin said the regulations governing GoldBod and gold aggregators could be creating incentives for illegal mining.
“The way GoldBod has been structured, it is rather encouraging the illegal mining activities we have in our country. 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. But are there some regulations to guide aggregators? Now, everybody is mining. Galamsey has gotten out of hand. So it is something that if care is not taken, our water and our land, we'll lose them,” he said.
He warned that the continued spread of illegal mining could have serious consequences for Ghana’s forests and water bodies, particularly the Atewa Forest.
“If we are not careful, Atewa Forest will not be there for us again,” he warned.
Afenyo-Markin also raised concerns about the increasing contamination of water bodies and its impact on water treatment.
“I once chaired the Ghana Water Limited Board. 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 plants cannot even function,” he said.
He called for stronger regulation of gold trading to ensure that efforts to purchase gold do not undermine attempts to tackle illegal mining and protect Ghana’s environment and water resources.
