The GoldBod Bill, a critical piece of legislation aimed at transforming Ghana’s gold industry, has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks.
The Bill has been touted as a game-changer for the industry, but some have raised concerns about its passage through Parliament.
A Response to the Critics
Ag. Managing Director of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi, has responded to claims that the GoldBod Bill was rushed through Parliament, stating that the legislation was a result of diligent work, extensive stakeholder consultations, and thorough parliamentary scrutiny.
According to him, the GoldBod Bill was developed over a period of 68 days, during which time extensive consultations were held with stakeholders in the gold industry.
Mr. Gyamfi revealed that a Technical Committee was constituted by the Minister for Finance, Ato Forson, comprising representatives from key stakeholders such as the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners, Chamber of Bullion Traders, Ghana, Bank of Ghana, Minerals Commission, and Minerals Income Investment Fund.
The committee held a series of consultations with diverse stakeholders, including meetings with experts from the Finance Ministry and the leadership of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
Mr. Gyamfi stated that the GoldBod Technical Committee also engaged stakeholders in the gold trading industry at Holiday Inn in Accra, where participants were taken through the policy concept paper and draft legislative instructions. Similar stakeholder engagements were held at Akyem Tafo, Kumasi, and Tarkwa, demonstrating the committee’s commitment to inclusivity and transparency.
Parliamentary Scrutiny
The draft Bill was subjected to thorough scrutiny in Parliament, with the Joint Committee of Finance and Lands and Natural Resources requesting a one-day adjournment to study the Bill in detail.
The committee scrutinized, reviewed, and debated every single clause of the Bill, making several amendments in the process.
Sammy Gyamfi noted that the NPP Minority side actively participated in the stakeholder engagements and parliamentary scrutiny, proposing several amendments to the Bill that were accepted and incorporated into the final version.
A Misguided Partisan Political Stunt?
Sammy Gyamfi’s response comes after claims by the NPP Minority side that the GoldBod Bill was rushed through Parliament.
Mr. Gyamfi described the claims as “a misguided partisan political stunt,” stating that the GoldBod Bill has several clauses that were proposed by the NPP MPs, including Hon. Afenyo Markin himself.
The Way Forward
The GoldBod Bill is expected to transform Ghana’s gold industry, maximize revenue from gold exports, and contribute to the country’s economic growth.
As the country moves forward, it is essential to focus on the benefits of the Bill and work towards its successful implementation.
Below is the full response from Sammy Gyamfi:
CLEARING THE MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE GOLDBOD (PART 3)
CLAIM 3: “THE GOLDBOD BILL WAS RUSHED.”
RESPONSE: FALSE
1. I was appointed by the President as Ag. Managing Director for the PMMC on the 16th January, 2025 and tasked to work on the establishment of the GoldBod under the direction of the Finance Minister.
2. I assumed office on 20th January, 2025 and soon after, held consultations with the leadership of the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners and the Chamber of Bullion Traders, Ghana.
3. It became clear from these engagements, that a broad consultative approach was an imperative in creating a legal and operational framework for the GoldBod that is fit for purpose. Consequently, a Technical Committee was constituted by the Minister responsible for Finance with representatives from all the key stakeholders such as the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners, Chamber of Bullion Traders, Ghana, Bank of Ghana, Minerals Commission, Minerals Income Investment Fund, among others.
4. Following its first brainstorming session, the GoldBod Technical Committee decided to and actually held a series of consultations with diverse stakeholders.
5. First, was a meeting with a group of experts from the Finance Ministry, followed by a meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to develop the core objects and functions of the GoldBod.
6. After these meetings, the GoldBod Technical Committee tasked its Legal Consultant, to draft legislative instructions for further stakeholder consultations.
7. The GoldBod Technical Committee went on to engage stakeholders in the gold trading industry at Holiday Inn in Accra. Participants at this meeting included members of the Chamber of Bullion Traders, Concerned Small-Scale Miners Association, Ghana Jewellers Association, Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners, the Chamber of Mines representing Large Scale mining companies, Gold Dealers under the PMMC, Gold Smiths, Bullion Transporters and some Civil Society Organizations in the Extractive Sector.
8. Soon after this meeting, the GoldBod Technical committee held a special engagement with Civil Society Organizations in the Extractive Sector in Accra.
9. At all these meetings, participants were taken through the policy concept paper and draft legislative instructions for the establishment of the GoldBod, and their inputs sought.
10. After duly incorporating all stakeholder inputs into the policy concept paper and the legislative instructions, the GoldBod Technical Committee decided to take the stakeholder consultations to the regional level. Three (3) programs were held, one event each at Akyem Tafo, Kumasi and Tarkwa. At these programs, participants ranging from Chiefs, Gold Dealers, Small-Scale miners, Bullion traders and exporters, were taken through the policy concept paper and draft legislative instructions for the establishment of the GoldBod and their views sought.
11. It was after these stakeholder engagements that the Technical Committee fine-tuned the policy concept paper and legislative instructions for the establishment of the GoldBod, incorporating all stakeholder inputs. These two important documents were then shared with some leading CSOs for their comments (some of whom are today strangely claiming that the Bill was rushed).
12. The GoldBod Technical Committee submitted its draft legislative instructions and policy paper to the Minister for Finance, who then forwarded it to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice for drafting. It is worthy of note that drafters from the AG’s office had been involved in the stakeholder engagement process right from the outset.
13. The draft Bill was then submitted to the President, who gave Executive Approval for the Bill. Subsequently, the Minister for Finance laid the Bill before Parliament for consideration and approval. This was after he had already informed the house about government’s intention to set up the GoldBod in the 2025 Budget statement.
14. For the records, the GoldBod Bill was subjected to thorough scrutiny in Parliament. At the first meeting of the Joint Committee of Finance and Lands and Natural Resources, the NPP Minority side, requested for a one-day adjournment to study the Bill in detail before proceeding to consider it. This request was granted.
15. The following day, the Joint Committee scrutinized, reviewed and debated every single clause of the Bill in line with laid down parliamentary rules and practice. In the process, several amendments were made to the Bill. The meeting that started sometime in the morning at about 10am, closed around 4pm.
16. This was not enough for the NPP Minority side. They requested another meeting to raise additional amendments to the Bill in conjunction with their caucus leadership. This request was also granted.
17. At the next meeting attended by the leadership of the Joint Committee of Finance and Lands and Natural Resources, several amendments were made to the GoldBod Bill after extensive constructive discussions and debate.
18. It is instructive to note that throughout this process, the NPP side led by Hon. Mohammed Amin Adam made it clear that they supported the establishment of the GoldBod in principle, but were only interested in amending the Bill to ensure that it is fit for purpose. The report of the Joint Committee on the GoldBod Bill bears this fact out.
20. While the GoldBod Bill was under consideration in Parliament, the Technical committee held another stakeholder engagement at Bolgatanga to sensitize stakeholders in the gold trading industry in the northern part of Ghana on the Bill and policy paper, as well as seek their inputs.
21. In a spirit of transparency and respect for divergence, the Finance Minister withdrew the first Bill he laid, effected all proposed amendments and relaid the amended version.
22. To our surprise, when the day for the second reading and consideration of the Bill came, we realized that our friends from the NPP had advertised over fifty (50) new amendments to the Bill. To ensure the smooth consideration of the Bill and avoid unnecessary time-wasting arguments on the floor, the 1st Deputy Speaker of Parliament who was presiding, suspended the house and referred the Bill to the Winnowing Committee for fine-tuning.
23. At the winnowing session, all the over fifty (50) advertised amendments from NPP MPs were thoroughly and constructively discussed and debated. Also, over twenty (20) proposed amendments that had not even been advertised were discussed. Several of the proposed amendments were accepted at winnowing, while the rest were abandoned by the proponents in the process. It is instructive to note that, the NPP side at this meeting was led by the Minority Leader, Hon, Alexander Afenyo Markin himself.This constructive process which took over four hours, considerably improved the GoldBod Bill into what it is today.
24. All the accepted amendments were effected into the Bill, and same reprinted for MPs. This was done before the second reading and consideration of the Bill.
25. For the records, Clauses 1-15 of the Bill were considered and approved by the house when the NPP Minority was present, without any substantial disagreements whatsoever. Therefore, the decision by the NPP to walk out at some point on grounds that they were tired is no evidence that the GoldBod Bill was rushed. As a matter of fact, a very respected leading member of the NPP side, told me before the winnowing process commenced, that he has never seen a Bill go through the kind of strict parliamentary scrutiny the GoldBod Bill was subjected to.
26. As for the press conference that was addressed by Hon. Afenyo Markin on the night of 28th March, 2025, to label the GoldBod as “Galamsey Board”, the least said about it, the better. Every objective mind ought to know that the said press conference was nothing but a misguided partisan political stunt aimed at pleasing his party footsoldiers. The GoldBod Bill passed by Parliament has several clauses that were proposed by the NPP MPs, including Afenyo Markin himself.
27. I have taken the time to chronicle all these events for every discerning mind to know that the GoldBod Bill, despite being developed and passed in a space of 68 days, was not rushed at all. On the contrary, the GoldBod Bill passed by Parliament and awaiting Presidential asset, is a product of diligent work, extensive, far-reaching stakeholder consultations, buy-in, and thorough parliamentary scrutiny.
SAMMY GYAMFI ESQ.
Ag. Managing Director, PMMC