The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has dismissed allegations by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) that it is unlawfully engaging in foreign exchange sales without the authorisation of the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has dismissed allegations by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) that it is unlawfully engaging in foreign exchange sales without the authorisation of the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), in a press conference led by the party’s Policy Coordinating Committee on Finance and Economy, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, questioned whether GoldBod has the legal mandate to conduct foreign exchange trading and auctions.
In an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Tuesday, September 1, the Media Relations Officer of GoldBod, Prince Kwame Minkah, says the institution’s foreign exchange operations are fully aligned with the central bank’s regulatory framework and have the necessary regulatory sign-off.
He explained that the arrangement allows commercial banks to participate in the allocation of foreign exchange without breaching BoG guidelines.
“The entire arrangement operates with full BOG alignment and regulatory sign-off, which allows the commercial banks to participate smoothly in the allocation without breaching central bank guidelines,”he stated.
Mr Minkah questioned the basis of the allegations, accusing the NPP of continually shifting its focus in its scrutiny of GoldBod.
“These days they’ve been embarking on a fishing expedition on a desert. So, I mean, they keep changing the goalposts from one issue to the other,” he noted.
He added,“If anybody was to figure out or find out or want to prove on any matter concerning GoldBod, our doors are wide open. There’s a parliamentary system that they could activate.”
Mr Minkah also defended the institution’s $1.4 billion operational target, saying it is based on the Ghana Annual Multilateral Reserve Accumulation Programme (GAMRAP).
“The $1.4 billion target is derived from GAMRAP’s operational mandate, which sets a weekly gold purchasing target of approximately three tons of gold per week across artisanal small-scale and large-scale mining operations.”
He said the figures include about 2.45 tonnes per week from the artisanal and small-scale mining sector and 0.5 tonnes from large-scale mining, alongside an agreed allocation for the strategic reserve.
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