….but Minority Leader raises concern

 The Minority Leader in Parlia­ment, Alexander Afenyo-Mar­kin, says there should have been further stakeholder engagement on the Gold Board Bill before bring­ing it to Parliament for approval.

According to him, the bill gives excessive control over gold trade in the country to the government, creating a monopoly- something that will discourage private investment and competition.

“One, the policy gives the Gold Board excessive control over gold trade, making it a government mo­nopoly. Is that what we want?” he questioned.

The Miniority Leader raised the concerns on the floor of the house prior to the approval of the bill on Friday.

The Gold Board aims to regu­late the gold industry by improving transparency, ensuring traceability, and increasing foreign exchange earnings.

It will also seek to manage the purchase, sale, and export of gold to generate reve­nue and help stabilise the cedi.

Mr Afenyo-Markin, however, believes that the passage of the bill will rather promote il­legal mining, popularly known as “galamsey,” instead of addressing challenges in the small-scale mining sector.

He argued that state involvement in gold trading could lead to price manipulation, political interference.

 BY RAISSA SAMBOU