Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams has warned that the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) is up against a “very powerful movement” of influential interests allegedly seeking to frustrate efforts to tighten controls and curb illegal dealings in Ghana’s gold sector.
The General Overseer of Action Chapel International has consequently called on Ghanaians to pray for the institution and support efforts to protect the country’s mineral resources.
Speaking during a church service on Sunday, August 16, Duncan-Williams said tighter controls over the gold trade had disrupted channels previously used by some individuals to acquire Ghanaian gold illegally.
According to him, he has received calls from individuals in countries where Ghanaian gold was previously purchased through the black market, with some allegedly seeking connections to senior officials who could facilitate access to gold through GoldBod.
“They can’t get the gold like before illegally, so they want some channels to the Gold Board so they can purchase the gold now from the Gold Board,” he said.
Duncan-Williams said the development suggested that GoldBod was confronting well-established interests with extensive knowledge of the gold industry and significant financial resources.
“It’s clear to me that the Gold Board is dealing with a very powerful movement—people very, very established who know and understand the field and how to do this and don’t want the right thing to be done,” he stated.
The Archbishop also raised concerns about the scale of gold allegedly leaving Ghana through illegal channels.
Recounting a previous encounter with members of a ruling family in a Middle Eastern country, Duncan-Williams claimed he was told that the volume of Ghanaian gold received and recorded there through illegal channels was three times the amount officially recorded by Ghana as having been sold to that country.
“It disturbed me. It really broke my heart,” he said.
He alleged that powerful and financially influential individuals were behind aspects of the illegal gold trade and warned that their activities could have serious consequences for Ghana.
Duncan-Williams further linked illicit gold trading and illegal mining to the destruction of water bodies, farmlands and threats to food production.
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He cautioned that political interests must not be allowed to weaken enforcement of laws intended to safeguard Ghana’s natural resources.
The Archbishop therefore urged Ghanaians to intercede for GoldBod and the country as authorities intensify efforts to regulate the gold trade and combat illegal activities in the sector. “We need to intercede for our country,” he said.
