The Member of Parliament (MP) for Akyem Oda in the Eastern Region, Alexander Akwasi Acquah, has challenged claims that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has created more than 4,000 jobs, insisting that the institution’s formal employment figures are significantly lower.
According to the MP, who is also the Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Local Government and Rural Development Select Committee, GoldBod’s formal job creation figure is slightly above 300, disputing the credibility of the broader employment figures attributed to the institution.
He has also accused GoldBod and its Chief Executive Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, of failing to provide sufficient evidence to substantiate the claim that the board has created more than 4,000 jobs.
Speaking on UTV’s “Adekyensroma” morning show, Mr Acquah argued that the activities associated with GoldBod’s gold purchasing operations have contributed to the expansion of illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey, rather than creating sustainable and formal employment opportunities.
“The only jobs GoldBod and Sammy Gyamfi have created are in galamsey. They cannot substantiate their claim of creating over 4,000 jobs,” he said.
Mr Acquah questioned the basis on which GoldBod arrived at the figure of more than 4,000 jobs, demanding clarity on whether the people counted as beneficiaries of the reported employment opportunities are formally employed and registered with the relevant statutory institutions.
He specifically questioned whether those included in the figure are registered with the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and whether they pay taxes, arguing that such indicators are important in determining the extent of formal employment created by the institution.
“Where is the source of the 4,000 jobs the GoldBod has created? Are they people who have been enrolled on SSNIT? Are they people who are paying taxes?” he asked.
The Akyem Oda MP maintained that the formal jobs directly created by GoldBod are slightly above 300, arguing that the remaining figure could include people whose activities are associated with the operation of GoldBod.
His comments raise questions about how employment linked to GoldBod’s operations is defined and measured, particularly whether the reported figure covers only direct employees or also includes miners, gold aggregators, traders, transporters and other participants in the gold value chain.
Beyond the employment figures, Mr Acquah expressed concern about the sources of gold purchased through GoldBod’s operations, alleging that a significant proportion of the gold traded through the system originates from illegal mining activities.
He argued that illegal mining continues to threaten Ghana’s environment, particularly forests and water bodies, and accused the government of failing to adequately address the problem.
According to him, the reported employment benefits associated with GoldBod should not be assessed in isolation from the environmental consequences of the activities through which some of the gold entering the market may be produced.
The MP further argued that the absence of an effective gold traceability system makes it difficult to determine whether gold purchased through the official channels originates from legally authorised mining operations.
He questioned how illegal miners are able to sell their gold in a system in which GoldBod has been established as the central institution responsible for purchasing and regulating gold from the small-scale mining sector.
“Today, the traceability that would aid GoldBod to know if they are buying the gold from legal miners is not there,” he argued.
He also questioned who purchases gold produced by illegal miners and where the gold eventually goes, suggesting that the answers are necessary to assess the effectiveness of the government’s gold purchasing arrangements.
Mr Acquah’s concerns centre on the need for stronger verification mechanisms to establish the origin of gold entering the formal market and to prevent gold obtained through illegal mining from being traded through legitimate channels.
The MP also questioned what he described as the limited evidence of new policy initiatives introduced by Sammy Gyamfi since assuming leadership of GoldBod.
He challenged the GoldBod CEO to identify specific programmes or policies introduced under his leadership, arguing that the institution’s operations are built on arrangements and initiatives developed before the current administration.
Mr Acquah specifically referred to policies associated with the establishment and operations of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), which preceded GoldBod.
He questioned whether the current leadership has introduced sufficiently distinct initiatives to justify the employment claims and other achievements being attributed to the board.
His comments form part of a broader political debate over the government’s management of the gold sector, the performance of GoldBod and the extent to which its activities are delivering measurable economic benefits.
Mr Acquah further argued that the claim of more than 4,000 jobs created by GoldBod should be examined against complaints about unemployment and limited job opportunities among some supporters of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He suggested that if GoldBod has created employment on the scale being reported, concerns about the lack of jobs would not continue to feature prominently in discussions among some NDC supporters on social media.
“If it is true that GoldBod has created that much job opportunities, we wouldn’t have a situation where members of the NDC will sit on social media complaining about lack of work or job opportunities since the party assumed power,” he argued.
The MP maintained that the government should provide verifiable evidence of the jobs it claims to have created rather than relying on figures that, in his view, do not adequately distinguish between formal employment and economic activities linked to the gold trade.
While employment figures can include both direct jobs and indirect livelihoods supported by an institution’s operations, the distinction is important when assessing formal employment, tax contributions, social security registration and the broader economic impact of a policy.
Mr Acquah’s remarks place the burden on GoldBod to clarify how its reported employment figures were calculated and to explain the measures it uses to verify the origin of gold purchased under its operations.
Mr Acquah insists that the reported creation of more than 4,000 jobs requires greater scrutiny, arguing that the government’s gold sector interventions must be assessed not only by the economic opportunities they generate but also by their contribution to tackling illegal mining and protecting Ghana’s natural resources.
By 1960news.com
