‘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 state 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 end up with 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. The government currently does not control who receives mined gold.

He mentioned efforts by the new government to regulate gold sales through GoldBod. However, many small-scale miners decide what to do with their gold independently. This often leads to it falling into the hands of organized criminals, including 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." He urged Ghanaians to consider security challenges linked to illegal mining.

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. These expatriates are damaging the environment but are allowed to go free.

Bosu criticized this approach: "Implementing laws favoring foreigners means we are failing as a country."