The Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Boamah, has launched a scathing attack on the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), accusing the institution of engaging in unfair pricing practices that he says are crippling small-scale miners and destabilising Ghana’s gold market.
Hon. Boamah alleged that GoldBod’s policies are not only lacking in transparency but are also enforced through coercion by national security operatives.
At the centre of Boamah’s concerns is GoldBod’s daily pricing mechanism, which he argues has been designed to cheat miners of fair value.
He criticised the board’s decision to peg gold prices to the interbank exchange rate, describing the move as a “rip-off.”
“Even government payments for foreign currency–denominated goods and services do not use the interbank rate as the basis for transactions. So why gold?”
Patrick Boamah, Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central
According to him, the Bank of Ghana deliberately maintains the interbank rate at a level lower than Bloomberg’s quoted USD rate, resulting in miners receiving less than the true international market value for their gold.
“This practice short-changes miners and undermines their investment in the gold mining business.”
Patrick Boamah, Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central
The legislator further criticised what he described as GoldBod’s “dual pricing system”, where two separate prices for gold are published daily. He argued that the practice is both economically illogical and deliberately opaque.
“Which commodity in the same market, for the same players, is sold at dual prices?
“This strongly suggests that GoldBod and the government are concealing the true and fair price of gold in Ghana.”
Patrick Boamah, Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central
Hon. Boamah contended that rather than hiding behind technicalities and offering miners so-called “bonuses,” GoldBod should simply pay the correct market value upfront.
“Why maintain different prices for the same commodity? GoldBod and the government must come clean.”
Patrick Boamah, Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central
Allegations of Intimidation
Beyond the economic implications, Hon. Boamah’s comments drew attention to what he described as a climate of fear and coercion in the mining sector.
He alleged that national security operatives have been deployed to enforce GoldBod’s pricing regime, subjecting miners and traders to harassment and violence.
“To justify and enforce this opaque market system introduced by GoldBod, the government has unleashed national security operatives whose task has been to intimidate and brutalise poor miners and traders.”
Patrick Boamah, Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central
He suggested that the gold trade, once a vibrant and open activity, has now been forced “into secrecy and darkness” under the current regime. “Is this the ‘Reset’ promised by JDM?” he asked, referencing the administration’s flagship slogan.
Hon. Boamah warned that Ghana’s small-scale mining sector, which employs hundreds of thousands of people and is heavily supported by domestic investment, is now in jeopardy.
He cautioned, “This sector needs urgent protection before it collapses completely,” urging government to step in and restore fairness to the system.
He stressed that if the issues are not addressed swiftly, Ghana risks destroying a sector that not only supports local livelihoods but also plays a key role in national revenue generation.
The MP’s intervention has already stirred public conversation, with mining associations and civil society groups expected to weigh in in the coming days.
Ghana, one of the world’s leading gold producers, has long relied on small-scale mining to bolster its economy.
However, the sector has faced persistent challenges ranging from illegal mining (galamsey) to environmental degradation. Boamah’s accusations now add a new layer of concern: that of systemic unfairness in official pricing.
The government is yet to officially respond to the allegations, but pressure is mounting for clarity on GoldBod’s policies and its role in safeguarding the interests of miners.
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