Stop buying gold from galamseyers, you’re enabling illegal mining - Miracles to Mahama, GoldBod

A staunch member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has called on government and state agencies to stop purchasing gold from illegal miners, warning that doing so only fuels the ongoing galamsey crisis.

Speaking on Joy News on Saturday, October 4, 2025, Aboagye expressed disappointment over what he described as the government’s endorsement of illegal mining activities through its gold-buying policies.

“Stop buying the gold from the galamseyers. Stop it. Because you are enabling galamsey if you are providing a ready market for them,” he said.

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He added that while initiatives like GoldBod were introduced to sanitise the gold trade, the system appears to have made it even easier for illegally mined gold to enter the market.

“I thought GoldBod was actually going to make it difficult for illegal gold to be sold. Rather, today in Ghana, illegal gold sale is easier than it was in the past,” Aboagye lamented.

He claimed that President Mahama had made comments that the government would purchase gold regardless of its source to prevent it from falling into private hands.

Such statements, Aboagye warned, could embolden illegal miners.

“So when I’m a galamseyer and I hear the President say, ‘It would have gone into private hands. And so once it’s available, whether it’s from illegal sources or legal sources, I will buy it,’ that is enabling galamsey,” he stressed.

He urged the government to take decisive action rather than engage in public relations campaigns on the matter.

“If the president is watching or anybody responsible is watching, they should freeze and pause all the PR attempts and confront the issues. We are in a deep crisis,” he cautioned.

He concluded by appealing to the government to act swiftly and decisively, stating that the public is ready to support any genuine effort to end the galamsey menace.

“The president and the government should stop talking. They should deal with the matter in a way that would give us results. Right now, the entire country is ready to rally behind them,” he said.

What President Mahama said about GoldBod buying Gold

President John Mahama, during his encounter with the media on September 10, had said that GoldBod ‘currently’ cannot distinguish between gold from legal miners and that from illegal sources.

He, however, added that all the proceeds from the gold traded in the country are retained, unlike previously, where the proceeds go directly to foreign merchants.

“So, the first thing is, you shut the stable door so that the horse does not escape, which is what we have done. So, if it is from illegal sources or from legal sources, it is retained in the country because at least it’s our land that is being destroyed,” he said.

Critics interpreted this as an acknowledgement that his administration might purchase gold regardless of its origin.

ID/EB

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