Mining consultant, Ing. Wisdom Gomashie, has called on Parliament to establish an independent gold price and purchasing reporting committee to co-manage the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP) with the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).
This proposal aims to institutionalize transparency within the state’s precious minerals sector, ensuring that daily price-setting and trading volumes are independently verified to protect the national purse from potential insider trading and deliberate fiscal losses.
The proposed committee, comprising experts from key economic sectors, would work alongside GoldBod to set daily gold prices and provide independent reports on trading volumes ahead of statutory board disclosures.
“Parliament should consider establishing an independent gold price & purchasing reporting committee with the mandate to set daily prices together with Goldbod and independently report on daily trading volumes by the Board. This is to further check the Goldbod from insider trading which may be designed to cause deliberate losses to the State. Such a move gives the country a chance of independent reporting ahead of statutory reports to avoid post-facto data manipulation.”
Ing. Wisdom Gomashi
This proactive reporting mechanism is designed to prevent “post-facto data manipulation” and curb the risks associated with “insider trading” which can be strategically designed to cause losses to the state.
By integrating independent oversight into the “mechanics of these losses,” the consultant argues that the legislature can help refine the DGPP’s operational framework, moving it away from a system that currently appears to “institutionalize losses for private gain.”
Addressing Structural Failures and “State Capture” Risks
The GoldBod, established in 2025 to replace the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), has recently come under fire following reports from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) indicating net losses exceeding GH¢7 billion between 2022 and 2024 as well as the recent $214M losses as a result of the Gold for Reserves initiative .
Ing. Gomashie argues that these deficits are symptomatic of a “State Capture” model where a single state-sponsored aggregator currently Bawa Rock Company Limited concentrates power and weakens price discovery.
He maintained that “State Sponsored Aggregators shouldn’t be only one,” as such monopolies create a breeding ground for “corruption and designed losses.”
By introducing a limited number of additional aggregators, the state could enhance competition and transparency in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) supply chain.
Redefining Mandates: The Case for Clear Segregation of Duties
A critical point of contention remains the role of GoldBod’s leadership, specifically Sammy Gyamfi Esq., whom Gomashie insisted must be made to understand that “GOLDBOD isn’t established to make losses.”
The mining expert emphasizes that a clear “segregation of duties” is required to rake in more revenue; GoldBod should operate as a regulator and trader, while the Bank of Ghana (BoG) retains full responsibility for the Gold for Reserves (G4R) program.
Current challenges, such as the absorption of GH¢4.84 billion in ASM-related losses in 2024 alone, highlight the fiscal strain caused by “inherent costs in the trading model” that lack clear accountability.
Ing. Gomashie asserted that once the mandate is clearly defined, the institution must declare revenue in its various capacities rather than hiding behind the “policy instrument” argument to justify recurring deficits.
Parliamentary Probe: A Path Toward Economic Sovereignty
The way forward, according to the mining consultant, requires Parliament to “probe (not witch hunt) all the matters” surrounding the DGPP to establish the exact mechanics of the reported financial shortfalls.
With gold prices at historic highs, Gomashie finds it “economically unjustifiable” for a state monopoly to record significant deficits.
By implementing an independent reporting committee and diversifying aggregators, Ghana can move the DGPP from a “crisis-response mechanism” to a sustainable pillar of economic stability.
These reforms would ensure that the DGPP actually “supports the accumulation of gold reserves” without compromising the commercial viability of the state’s primary gold-trading entity, ultimately protecting the country’s sovereign wealth from mismanagement and opacity.
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