Mining consultant, Wisdom Gomashie, has accused the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) of being an enabler of illegal gold mining, popularly known as “galamsey”.
In a Facebook post on Friday, September 19, 2025, Gomashie posed a series of questions in response to the Acting Chief Executive Officer of GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi’s, claim that his outfit cannot be blamed for the “galamsey” menace.
“Sammy Gyamfi, do you now mean galamsey has been with us for decades and Ghana Gold Board can’t be tagged as a state-sponsored galamsey vehicle?
“So, you knew galamsey was with us for decades, yet you went to Pra and elsewhere, making commentaries across the world that [former] President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was the cause of galamsey in Ghana?
“Your Finance Minister and you called a 5.4% economic growth in 2024 a ‘Galamsey Economy,’ yet GOLDBOD, backed by the government of Ghana, must not be held responsible for galamsey?” he queried.
We’re not buying galamsey gold – GoldBod CEO
He further questioned the National Communications Officer of the ruling National Democratic Congress over his commentaries on “galamsey” under the previous government and his current stance on the matter.
“You were writing to the UN to get Akufo-Addo removed as UN SDG Co-Chair because you said he was superintending over galamsey. Should we attack President John Dramani Mahama in the same manner?
“Should we write to the OECD, U.S. Mission to the OECD, LBMA, UN, World Gold Council, and all major international trade and human rights bodies that GOLDBOD and the Government of Ghana are producing ‘Blood or Dirty Gold’ and, hence, Ghana should be blacklisted?” Gomashie questioned, describing Sammy Gyamfi’s claim as a sad situation.
Speaking on JoyFM on September 19, 2025, Sammy Gyamfi rejected suggestions that the newly established institution (GoldBod) is fueling illegal mining.
He described such claims as “false and misleading,” stressing that GoldBod, set up barely five months ago, cannot be blamed for an age-old problem that has plagued the country for decades.
How can 5-month-old GoldBod be responsible for age-long ‘galamsey’ problem? – Sammy Gyamfi
“Last year, when there was no Gold Board, galamsey had reached unprecedented and alarming levels. How then can a five-month-old statutory corporation be responsible for galamsey?” he questioned.
Sammy Gyamfi explained that the Board’s legal mandate is not to fight illegal mining directly but to support sustainable and environmentally responsible mining practices.
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