"Gov't to sell confiscated illegal gold to fund land reclamation" – Joyce Bawah Mogtari

The Government of Ghana will sell all gold seized through illegal mining activities and tracked via the Ghana Gold Board’s blockchain system, with proceeds earmarked for the restoration of degraded lands and polluted water bodies.

This was disclosed by Senior Presidential Advisor, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, during an interview on an Accra-based television station aired on Sunday, April 20.

Ms. Bawah Mogtari explained that the Ghana Gold Board is intensifying efforts to ensure that gold obtained through illegal means is prevented from entering the formal market.

"If gold is acquired or mined illegally, they will have a way of preventing those from coming into the legal markets,” she stated.

She emphasized that revenue generated from the sale of such confiscated gold will be channeled into environmental restoration efforts, including the cleaning of polluted rivers and the rehabilitation of forests destroyed by illegal mining.

“We have a challenge on our hands: pollution of our water bodies, degradation of our forests,” she said.

“I am delighted that so many young people are working on ideas, interventions that will help us regenerate our forests and clean our water bodies.”

Drawing inspiration from the international effort to curb the trade in conflict diamonds, Ms. Bawah Mogtari said the Gold Board would adopt global standards to trace the origins of gold, thereby preventing illegally sourced gold from entering international markets.

“The world decided to punish those who were investing in blood diamonds by refusing to buy them. Diamonds from those communities were denied access to global markets. It was a good way to sanitise that industry,” she added.

She estimated Ghana’s annual gold exports at about $5 billion, with a significant portion believed to be derived from illegal mining activities that contribute little to national development.

“That is the sort of thing we want to stop. It is that kind of exportation we do not want to see anymore,” she stressed.

Ms. Bawah Mogtari further indicated that the Gold Board has made notable progress in its operations and continues to receive support from key stakeholders in the mining sector.

“So far, they’ve taken some giant strides. I’m looking forward to how it works out. And since the biggest beneficiaries—those in the industry—welcome it, I think all of us should give it a chance,” she concluded.

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith