- Edward Tuttor of the Fix the Country movement questions GoldBod’s transparency on the source of its gold.
- GoldBod manages Ghana’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector with exclusive rights to trade gold.
- Tuttor says the company gives vague answers, claiming sources are only “small-scale miners.”
- He alleges many miners in forest reserves and river bodies operate under questionable licences with little accountability.
- He criticised President Mahama for admitting he cannot differentiate between galamsey gold and licensed gold.
- Tuttor warns delays in firm action fuel suspicions of government involvement in illegal mining.
- The Fix the Country movement pledges to intensify pressure until real measures are taken against galamsey.
Concerns are mounting over Ghana’s gold sector as Edward Tuttor, a leading voice in the Fix the Country movement, has accused state-backed gold trading company GoldBod of lacking transparency about the origins of its gold.
GoldBod, created to regulate and oversee artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), holds exclusive rights to buy, weigh, assay, value, and export gold from licensed miners. However, Tuttor says the company has failed to provide clear answers about its supply chain.
“Whenever questions are raised, they simply point to artisanal and small-scale miners without specifying who or where exactly,” Tuttor noted, adding that such vagueness raises serious red flags.
He alleged that many of those mining recklessly in forest reserves and river bodies claim to have licences, yet oversight remains weak. “If these so-called licensed operators are degrading the environment, where is the accountability?” he pressed.
The activist also took issue with President John Dramani Mahama, pointing to the President’s own admission that he cannot tell the difference between gold from galamsey operations and that from licensed miners.
According to Tuttor, any further delay in decisive government action deepens suspicions of complicity. “If the will exists, galamsey can be stopped. But dragging feet only signals that powerful hands in government benefit from the trade,” he cautioned.
The Fix the Country movement has vowed to escalate its campaign until authorities roll out bold and effective strategies to dismantle illegal mining networks and protect the nation’s resources.
