The Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) is facing intense scrutiny after a governance watchdog declared that its planned GHC36.35 million land reclamation project falls outside its legal mandate under Act 1140.
The Forum for Responsible Resource Governance says the initiative, which targets areas degraded by illegal mining, cannot be justified under the agency’s statutory functions.
According to the group, GOLDBOD is legally restricted to regulating gold trade, supporting foreign exchange stability, and assisting Bank of Ghana reserves.
Agreement
The controversy stems from a 16 June announcement in which GOLDBOD said it had signed an agreement with the Ghana Armed Forces and the Forestry Commission to implement a nationwide land rehabilitation programme.
The agency also indicated it would fully fund the project in phases.
But the Forum insists that land reclamation is not within GoldBod’s remit and warns the move risks setting a dangerous precedent for public financial management.
‘Not law’
In a strongly worded statement, the group cited Section 2 of Act 1140, arguing that Parliament clearly defined GoldBod’s core functions without including environmental restoration projects.
It further rejected attempts to rely on Section 3(1)(g), which refers to promoting environmentally responsible mining practices.
According to the Forum, that provision does not extend to large-scale capital expenditure programmes financed with public funds.
“This interpretation stretches legislative intent beyond recognition,” the group argued, describing the justification as “legal gymnastics.”
Financial concerns
The Forum also pointed to what it says are significant financial losses by GoldBod, estimating a deficit exceeding $214 million in 2025.
Against that backdrop, it questioned why the agency would commit GHC36.35 million to a project outside its core mandate.
It warned that the initiative risks compounding financial pressure on the institution and undermining public accountability.
Allegations of mismanagement and political risk
The statement went further, alleging that the project bears similarities to past governance failures involving misuse of public funds.
It described the initiative as potentially indicative of entrenched inefficiencies in state financial management systems, though it did not provide direct evidence of wrongdoing.
Demands
The Forum has called for immediate clarification on six key issues: first, “whether the project was included in the 2026 national budget, second, whether the GoldBod Board formally approved the expenditure, third, the basis for the GHC36.35 million cost estimate, fourth, the total land area targeted for reclamation, fifth, the legal opinion supporting GoldBod’s involvement and lastly, why the agency is leading the project instead of mandated institutions.”
GOLDBOD
The Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) is the sole authority with exclusive right to buy, sell, weigh, grade, assay, value and export gold and other precious minerals in Ghana. The Ghana Gold Board functions under the oversight and supervision of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Ghana.
The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) is a body corporate established by an Act of Parliament (ACT 1140) in the year 2025 to oversee, regulate and undertake the buying, selling, assaying, refining, exporting and other related activities in respect of Gold and other Precious Minerals in Ghana.
The GoldBod per section 78 of ACT 1140, took over the rights, obligations, assets, liabilities and workforce of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) Limited, which is an offshoot of the Ghana Diamond Marketing Board.
In 1963, the Ghana Diamond Marketing Board was established and charged with the responsibility of purchasing and marketing Ghana’s diamonds. In 1965, by a Legislative Instrument (LI) 401, the Ghana Diamond Marketing
Board was incorporated as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE).
Upon the promulgation of the diamonds decree (NRCD 32) in 1972, LI 916 was enacted to change the company’s name to Diamond Marketing Corporation.
In 1989, PNDC Law 219 was enacted to yet again change the Company’s name to the Precious Minerals Marketing Corporation with enhanced functions to grade, assay, value gold, diamonds and other precious minerals of the country.
In the year 2000, the Corporation was converted by the Statutory Corporations Conversion to Companies Act (ACT 461) to a Limited Liability Company to operate under the Ghana Companies Code Act, (ACT 179) 1963, as Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) Limited with the same functions.
In the year 2016, the PMMC was appointed the national assayer by the government of Ghana.
To strengthen industry regulation and optimize national benefits, the Ghana GoldBod was established on 2 April, 2025 by the government of Ghana to restructure and streamline the precious mineral trading sector of Ghana.
The GoldBod initiative is a product of extensive stakeholder consultations and aims at maximizing foreign exchange inflows, gold reserve accumulation and value addition for sustainable growth and transformation.
