‘Ghana's gold in the hands of criminal gangs’    

Dr. Clement Sefa-Nyarko is a lecturer at King's College London. He teaches Security, Development, and Leadership in Africa. Recently, he spoke to the media about Ghana's small-scale mining sector.

Dr. Sefa-Nyarko warned that this sector may support organized crime in West Africa. He noted that some of Ghana's gold ends up with criminal gangs. The government lacks control over who buys this mineral.

He provided evidence that Ghana's gold funds organized crime in the Sahel region. "Some proceeds from small-scale mining do not go through the government," he said. Instead, they often reach non-state actors and criminal gangs.

Dr. Sefa-Nyarko emphasized that unaccounted revenues fuel criminal activities in the region. "Revenues from small-scale mining contribute to organized crime," he stated.

He explained that the government does not control gold sales effectively. The new administration is trying to regulate sales through a system called GoldBod.

Currently, small-scale miners decide what to do with their gold. Many times, it falls into the hands of organized criminals or terrorist groups like Boko Haram.

He spoke at a stakeholders’ forum in Kumasi organized by A ROCHA Ghana and King’s College London. His topic was “Leadership In The Crisis of Small-Scale Mining.”

Dr. Sefa-Nyarko urged Ghanaians to consider security challenges linked to illegal mining, not just environmental issues.

Mr. Daryl Bosu is the Deputy National Director of A ROCHA Ghana. He expressed concern about the government's decision not to prosecute foreign illegal miners.

Bosu stated these expatriates are damaging the environment but face no consequences. "If we favor foreigners over our laws, we are failing as a country," he said.