Gold for oil: There is more than enough gold, PMMC debunks claims of confiscating jewellery

The Managing Director of the Precious Mineral Marketing Company (PMMC), Nana Kwasi Awuah, has debunked claims that it was confiscating jewellery from persons at the airport for its gold-for-oil policy.

He explained that Ghana has enough gold to be used for the policy and has no need to confiscate people’s jewellery.

According to him, the exercise at the airport was targeted at criminals who smuggle gold.

“...There is more than enough gold produced in this country to meet and sustain the gold for oil policy, it is not necessary to confiscate people’s private jewellery.”

“Even long before the announcement of the gold for oil policy, certain people have been finding very mischievous ways of disguising gold dowry as jewellery and then smuggling it out of the country,” he is quoted by asaasenews.com.

“So, the security agencies at our various points of entry and exit have always been conducting these operations to identify persons who are carrying unexplained quantities of gold disguised as jewellery,” Awuah added.

The Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwasi Pratt Jnr, alleged that some passengers at the Kotoka International Airport were being mistreated in the name of the government’s Gold-for-Oil policy.

According to the veteran journalist, he had received multiple reports of personal ornaments of passengers such as rings and bangles being confiscated by officials at the airport.

"I’ve received three complaints and the last one was from a Ghanaian living in China. He had visited the country and was returning to China. When he got to the airport, his wedding ring and a bangle he was wearing were seized. When he raised questions, he was told ‘Haven’t you heard about the Gold-for-Oil policy? We are taking gold to buy oil,” he narrated on the Tuesday, March 14, 2023, edition of Peace FM’s morning show, Kokrokoo.

He stated that the passenger was issued an official document for the seizure of the ornaments.

“The man left the matter in the hands of his family and travelled to China. Meanwhile, they were issued a document indicating the ring has been confiscated and were asked to go to the National Bureau of Investigations.

"When they went to BNI, they were asked to speak to the director and the director asked that they seek the intervention of a lawyer,” he alleged.

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