Parliament’s recent passage of the Goldbod Bill has sparked widespread debate, with many Ghanaians expressing concerns about the legislation’s implications. At the heart of the controversy is the notion that the bill criminalizes the possession of gold by individuals.
However, the Managing Director of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), Sammy Gyamfi, has moved to allay these fears, clarifying that the Goldbod Bill does not make it a crime for individuals, including chiefs, to possess gold for ancestral, traditional, or personal reasons.
According to Mr. Gyamfi, the misconception stems from a misunderstanding of the bill’s provisions. “The claim that possessing gold for ancestral, traditional or personal reasons constitutes a crime under the GoldBod Bill is totally false,” he stated.
Mr. Gyamfi explained that the bill only prohibits the hoarding of gold without a license or authorization. Hoarding, as defined in the bill, refers to the accumulation or storage of gold beyond reasonable business needs, with the purpose of manipulating market conditions or creating artificial scarcity.
“The Goldbod Bill is designed to promote transparency and accountability in the gold industry, not to punish individuals for possessing gold,” Mr. Gyamfi emphasized.
He noted that the bill’s provisions are aimed at preventing licensed agents of the Goldbod from hoarding gold, which could lead to market manipulation and unfair competition.
Mr. Gyamfi also highlighted the bill’s potential benefits, including the promotion of value addition in the gold industry.
“One of the functions of the Goldbod is to promote local gold fabrication into coins, tablets, bars, and other castings and mints for Ghanaians,” he said.
As the Goldbod Bill awaits presidential assent, stakeholders are urging the government to ensure that the legislation is implemented in a fair and transparent manner.
Below is the full statement issued by Sammy Gyamfi:
CLEARING THE MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE GOLDBOD (PART 2)
CLAIM 2: UNDER THE GOLDBOD, A PERSON INCLUDING A CHIEF, WILL REQUIRE A LICENSE TO HOLD OR KEEP GOLD, JEWELRY AND OTHER GOLD PRODUCTS. AND THAT FAILURE TO DO THAT, CONSTITUTES A CRIME UNDER THE GOLDBOD BILL.
RESPONSE: TOTALLY FALSE
No provision in the Goldbod Bill passed by Parliament and awaiting the assent of the President, criminalizes the mere holding, possession and/or storage of Gold.
What constitutes a crime under the Goldbod Bill (Clause 68 (1)) is the HOARDING of gold.
It is worthy of note, that hoarding is not the same as keeping or being in possession of Gold.
Clause 68(1) of the Goldbod bill provides:
“A person shall not, without lawful authority, HOARD gold without a license or authorization issued by the Gold Board”.
Hoard is defined under Clause 74 of the Goldbod Bill as “the accumulation or storage of a gold mining product beyond reasonable business needs, with the purpose of manipulating market conditions or creating artificial scarcity”.
More importantly, Clause 68(2) provides that:
Subsection (1)- which is the offense creation section on hoarding, “DOES NOT APPLY TO A PERSON IN POSSESSION OF GOLD FOR PERSONAL OR VALUE STORAGE PURPOSES”.
The purpose of Clause 68(1) of the Goldbod Bill, is to prevent situations where licensed agents of the Goldbod, given funds by the Goldbod to buy gold for the Goldbod, will hoard gold for the purpose of causing scarcity or create unfair competition or manipulate prices , among others.
It is therefore false that the Goldbod Bill criminalizes the possession of gold by a person or Chief.
On the contrary, one of the functions of the Goldbod is to promote value addition, particularly, local gold fabrication into coins, tablets, bars and other castings and mints for Ghanaians.
One of the reasons for this function, is to promote gold as a better store of value than the U.S. dollar with the aim of reducing pressure on the Ghana cedi.
Thus, the Goldbod will consciously campaign for Ghanaians to buy gold products such as coins, tablets, tokens etc. for purposes of value storage.
The claim that possessing gold for ancestral, traditional or personal reasons constitutes a crime under the GoldBod Bill is totally false.
Thank you.
Sammy Gyamfi
MD, PMMC