The illegal transfer of gold, one of the country’s most valuable natural resources, remains one of the country’s significant economic losses.
According to Minister for Finance Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Ghana is losing billions in revenue due to illegal transfers of gold. At the height of the country’s economic crisis in 2022, an estimated 60 tonnes of gold – worth around US$1.2billion – were smuggled out of the country through illegal channels.
Consequently, there is an urgent need to curb illegal mining and smuggling activities that have long deprived the nation of crucial revenue.
To tackle this issue, Dr. Forson announced that he had met with officials from the UK-Ghana Gold Programme – a collaboration focused on severing the links between illegal artisanal gold mining and organised crime.
It aims to ensure Ghana benefits fully from its gold resources while also combatting the illegal trade that has been detrimental to the country’s finances.
The UK-Ghana Gold Programme (UKGGP) collaborates with Ghana’s government to ensure that artisanal small-scale gold mining is properly regulated and existing regulations are effectively enforced.
The informal nature of the gold sector poses a major challenge in addressing Illicit Financial Flows in the country. In fact, the UK government has raised concerns over the increasing rate of gold smuggling in Ghana and its negative impact on the country’s revenue mobilisation drive.
Ghana loses approximately US$2billion annually in tax revenue due to smuggling and illegal gold operations. It is not far-fetched to say that the gold sector is being exploited by organised crime groups.
Gold smuggling has more than doubled. It is therefore important to reverse this trend and protect Ghana’s economic future. Illegal mining has emerged as a pressing issue with significant implications for economic growth and development.
Illegal mining operations often evade taxes, royalties and other regulatory fees, resulting in substantial revenue losses for government. The evasion of taxes and royalties by illegal miners deprives government of a crucial revenue source.
To address the distortion caused by illegal mining, Ghana needs to strengthen regulatory frameworks and enforcement mechanisms.
