A Ghanaian lawyer is pressing the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) to open its books on all small-scale miners who have sold gold to the state since the agency was created, insisting that transparency is crucial to safeguarding the country’s mineral wealth.
In a formal Right to Information (RTI) request addressed to the Board and copied to its Chief Executive Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, legal practitioner Eric Dawda asked for a comprehensive list of miners and licensed small-scale mining companies that have supplied gold to GoldBod.
He also requested their licence numbers, transaction dates, volumes of gold sold, and the regions in which they operate.
According to him, the disclosure is essential to verify that only legally licensed small-scale miners are trading with the agency. Dawda argues that without transparency, unlicensed and illegal operators could easily infiltrate the government’s gold-purchase scheme.
Beyond supplier information, Dawda is demanding access to policy documents, operational manuals, procurement plans, financial inflows and outflows, and all guidelines governing how GoldBod assays, values, buys, and exports gold.
He is also asking for records of gold exported by the agency.
“Gold is a major contributor to Ghana’s economy. Understanding who supplies the gold and under what policies it is purchased promotes oversight, combats corruption, and ensures the sector is being managed in the best interest of the state,” he stated in the request.
Ghana’s RTI Act compels public institutions to release requested information within legally defined timelines, except where specific exemptions apply.
Dawda warned that he would “use all legitimate means” to obtain the information should GoldBod fail to comply with the law.
GoldBod was established to formalise Ghana’s domestic gold purchasing and strengthen state control over the small-scale mining value chain—a sector historically associated with illicit mining, environmental harm, and significant revenue losses.
The agency has not yet commented on the lawyer’s request.
