The Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has taken aim at the Majority in Parliament and, by extension, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), over what he calls the ‘Gold Mafia’ and the swift passage of the GOLDBOD bill.
He raised concerns about the timing of the bill’s approval, stating that it was passed at “3:21 AM”—a move he believes warrants scrutiny.
“What are they hiding?” he questioned in a Facebook post on March 29, 2025, as reported by Metro TV.
Ahiagbah expressed skepticism about the transparency of the bill, which seeks to establish the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD).
“Why would Ghana’s Majority in Parliament pass the GOLDBOD bill around 3:21 AM? Rushed deals in the dead of night rarely serve the people but only the powerful,” he noted.
The GOLDBOD initiative, introduced by the Mahama administration, is designed to regulate gold trading, particularly within the small-scale mining sector, by ensuring traceability and enhancing Ghana’s reputation in the global gold market.
Under the proposed framework, the GoldBod would function under the Minister for Finance and serve as the sole buyer of gold from licensed small-scale miners through accredited aggregators. It would also act as the sole assayer of gold in the country.
According to the government, this initiative aims to curb gold smuggling, strengthen foreign exchange reserves, and stabilize the cedi.
Currently, Ghana’s gold trade involves multiple stakeholders, including the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), the Bank of Ghana (BoG), the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), and private gold aggregators. The introduction of GOLDBOD seeks to centralize these operations under one regulatory body.
