Ghana’s parliamentary opposition has raised concerns over the Ghana Gold Board’s decision to license a single private company as the exclusive aggregator for artisanal gold purchases nationwide, alleging the arrangement has facilitated transactions exceeding $10 billion without competitive oversight. The Minority bloc publicly challenged the arrangement Monday, December 29, 2025, during a press briefing in Accra.
Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, identified Bawa Rock Company Limited, owned by businessman Alhaji Rashid Bawa Namoro, as the sole entity authorized to aggregate and purchase artisanal gold on behalf of GoldBod. The opposition legislator argued that granting monopoly rights to one firm eliminates competition that traditionally ensured fair pricing, transparency, and protection against rent seeking in Ghana’s gold sector.
The Minority has submitted seven formal questions to relevant authorities seeking clarification on the licensing process, beneficial ownership structure, selection criteria, and rationale for creating what it describes as a deliberate monopoly. According to Oppong Nkrumah, these questions remain inadequately answered despite their submission to government officials and regulatory agencies.
The arrangement reportedly requires every miner, dealer, landowner, and small scale producer to channel gold through Bawa Rock Limited before reaching GoldBod and eventually the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for reserve purposes. The Minority contends this structure concentrates power in one private intermediary, raising fundamental questions about governance, accountability, and whether the system serves public interest.
Opposition legislators claim Bawa Rock Limited operates from headquarters located in the Roman Ridge area of Accra under heavy military guard, though no official explanation has been provided for the reported security presence. The company’s exact operational structure, staffing levels, and financial arrangements with GoldBod remain undisclosed to the public.
Unconfirmed reports circulating publicly suggest possible connections between the company’s owner and senior government officials. These allegations have not been independently verified, and government representatives have declined commenting on such claims. The absence of official clarification has fueled speculation about the selection process and whether competitive bidding procedures were followed.
The Minority’s concerns emerged alongside controversy triggered by an International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessment indicating Ghana may have incurred losses estimated at $214 million under the Bank of Ghana’s Gold for Reserves programme during the first nine months of 2025. The Fund characterized the development as a potential threat to economic stability, though GoldBod has rejected these findings.
GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi issued a statement clarifying that the board does not charge off taker fees and that its mandate is limited to purchasing, assaying, and exporting gold on behalf of the central bank. He emphasized that all gold trading and sales decisions remain the sole responsibility of BoG, with GoldBod functioning purely as a procurement and logistics intermediary.
Oppong Nkrumah explained that GoldBod pays small scale miners at global market prices benchmarked to foreign exchange bureau rates to remain competitive. However, when GoldBod subsequently sells dollar proceeds from offshore buyers back to the Bank of Ghana, transactions occur at weaker interbank rates. This structure passes exchange rate losses directly to the central bank while protecting GoldBod’s financial position.
The Minority insists this design creates systemic losses rather than market fluctuation problems. Opposition legislators calculate that if the IMF reported $214 million in losses for nine months, the full year total could approach $300 million. They argue the arrangement prioritizes intermediary protection over state financial interests.
Opposition demands include establishing a parliamentary ad hoc investigative committee with subpoena powers to examine contracts, licenses, and intermediary arrangements. The Minority seeks full public disclosure of pricing formulas, fee structures, foreign exchange mechanisms, and aggregator selection criteria used in GoldBod operations.
Environmental concerns form another dimension of the Minority’s critique. Opposition members argue that GoldBod lacks capacity to meet Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) gold traceability standards, potentially transforming the system into what they describe as state sanctioned laundering for gold sourced from illegal mining operations.
The Minority warns that forest reserves face degradation, rivers suffer mercury and cyanide pollution, and cocoa farms experience destruction while GoldBod purchases gold without adequate sourcing verification. They propose emergency measures including suspending mining permits in forest reserves and introducing blockchain based, mine level traceability for all gold purchased under the scheme.
Historical context provided by the opposition indicates that under the original Gold for Reserves program design introduced during previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, Ghana’s reserves grew from 8.7 tonnes to 31 tonnes within two years without reported losses. The Bank of Ghana purchased physical gold directly for reserves without intermediaries during that period.
The Minority contends that the current model shifts focus from reserve building toward speculative trading, resulting in minimal reserve growth from 31 tonnes to 38 tonnes despite large gold volumes passing through GoldBod. They attribute this stagnation to the involvement of private intermediaries like Bawa Rock Limited and the trading oriented approach rather than reserve accumulation strategy.
Neither the Bank of Ghana nor GoldBod leadership has publicly addressed the Minority’s specific allegations about Bawa Rock Limited’s role or responded to demands for disclosure regarding beneficial ownership and selection processes. Government officials have also not commented on unverified reports suggesting connections between company ownership and senior administration members.
GoldBod previously projected a surplus of at least 600 million cedis in the 2025 financial year, contradicting IMF loss assessments. The board maintains it operates transparently within its mandate, though critics argue that claiming profitability while the central bank absorbs exchange rate losses obscures the program’s true financial impact on state coffers.
The Minority has appealed to civil society organizations, traditional leaders, faith groups, labor unions, student bodies, and diaspora communities to demand accountability. Opposition legislators characterize the issue as transcending partisan politics, framing it as a fundamental question about whether Ghana protects natural resource wealth for current and future generations.
Oppong Nkrumah warned that proven negligence or corruption must lead to prosecutions and recovery of public funds. The opposition insists that without transparency and competitive processes, the gold aggregation scheme risks undermining public trust while potentially worsening environmental destruction linked to mining activities.
The coming weeks will test Parliament’s willingness to subject the Gold for Reserves programme to cross party scrutiny. The Minority maintains that until questions about Bawa Rock Limited’s selection, beneficial ownership, and monopoly status receive satisfactory public answers, the entire GoldBod scheme’s integrity remains in doubt.
