Latest News

Ghana launches taskforce to stop gold smuggling

John Dramani Mahama, President of Ghana, launched on Tuesday a taskforce backed by the security forces in order to combat illegal gold trading. Africa's largest producer is trying to recover billions lost due to smuggling. Ghana's task force is the first national initiative to combat gold smuggling. The government had previously tried to clean up artisanal gold mining, but this was unsuccessful in preventing illegal extraction or preventing the revenue losses that most African gold producers suffer. Ghana created a new board called GoldBod this year to centralise the gold trading. Mahama, at the inauguration for the new taskforce, said that this has led to official exports in 2025 of 55.7 tonnes of gold worth $5 billion.

Mahama stated that the money would not have returned to Ghana if traders had taken it out and left the foreign currency outside.

Mahama announced that to encourage public participation with the new antismuggling taskforce, which will include both police and soldiers, informants would receive 10% of the gold value seized through their tips. Mahama said Ghana will implement a national gold traceability system by 2026 and move to refined gold exports. A certified assay lab by the International Organization for Standardization will be used to ensure quality and capture more value. The country also plans to create a manufacturing hub to maximize gold's value. West African governments strive to increase revenue by taking advantage of the rising commodity prices. Military-led countries are adopting aggressive policy, including rewriting the mining codes, securing assets, and renegotiating contract, while democracies such as Ghana and Ivory Coast pursue measured reforms, through higher royalty rates and enhanced revenue sharing deals.

According to data, gold prices have increased by 25% in the past year, peaking at $3,500 an ounce in April. (Reporting and editing by Emmanuel Bruce, Robwell Corey-Boulet, Franklin Paul and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila)

(source: Reuters)