Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday unveiled the country’s first national task force to combat gold smuggling, as the West African nation intensifies efforts to curb billions of dollars in lost revenue from illegal trade in its most valuable export.
The task force, which will be backed by security forces including the military and police, is a major step in Ghana’s broader strategy to formalize its gold sector. It follows the establishment of a new centralized gold trading body, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), earlier this year.
“This is money that would not have come back to Ghana because traders would have taken it and kept the foreign exchange outside,” President Mahama said during the launch. He announced that Ghana had recorded official gold exports of 55.7 metric tonnes, worth $5 billion, in the first five months of 2025, the highest ever for that period.
To encourage public support, Mahama said informants whose tips lead to gold seizures will receive 10% of the recovered value.
The anti-smuggling initiative comes as gold prices have surged by 25% this year, peaking at $3,500 per ounce in April, according to Reuters. The soaring prices have intensified illegal extraction and cross-border trade, a common challenge for African gold producers.
Ghana, Africa’s top gold producer, is also advancing a comprehensive gold traceability system and plans to shift to refined gold exports by 2026. The government is investing in an internationally certified assay laboratory and a specialized gold manufacturing hub to increase domestic value addition.
While some West African nations led by military regimes have taken aggressive measures like contract renegotiations and asset seizures, democracies such as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are pursuing structured reforms, including higher royalties and fairer revenue-sharing frameworks.
Mahama expressed optimism that the task force, along with institutional reforms, would help Ghana retain more of the wealth generated from its gold sector while upholding legal and ethical standards in mineral trade.
Written By Rodney Mbua
