Accra: Mr Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader, has accused the government of enabling illegal mining, stating that its decision to allow the Gold Board to purchase gold from small-scale miners effectively finances galamsey activities.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr Afenyo-Markin expressed his concerns on Thursday, November 27, during a discussion on the 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy on the Floor of Parliament. He highlighted that the government's announcement empowering the Gold Board to buy gold from small-scale miners contradicts its claims of combating illegal mining.
"In this budget, the government announced the Gold Board to purchase gold from small-scale miners. They are not fighting illegal mining. The NDC government, through the Gold Board, is rather financing it. This is giving it state endorsement," Mr Afenyo-Markin stated.
He further criticized the government for its lack of commitment to ending illegal mining, pointing out that members of NAIMOS continue to face danger while the government remains inactive. "Mr Speaker, today, members of NAIMOS are getting hurt, dead, and shot in a fight their own government has abandoned. Eight lives were lost on their way to launch a programme to fight illegal mining," he lamented.
The Minority Leader argued that the establishment of a Gold Board to buy gold that cannot be traced to miners who cannot be verified only fosters complicity rather than enforcement. He emphasized, "Today, their own government is demonstrating neither the seriousness nor commitment necessary to defeat it. Instead, it has set up a Gold Board to buy gold it cannot trace from miners it cannot verify in a system designed for complicity, rather than enforcement. If this government cannot trace the gold, it must not buy the gold."