Ghana loses $2B annually to galamsey, gold smuggling - UK government

The UK government has expressed deep concern over Ghana's escalating gold smuggling crisis, warning of devastating economic consequences if left unchecked.

Ghana loses a staggering $2 billion annually in tax revenue due to smuggling and illegal gold operations, with nearly 60 tonnes of gold smuggled out of the country in 2022 alone.

Chris Aston, team lead for the UK Ghana Gold Programme (UKGGP), urged Ghanaian authorities to take immediate action, emphasizing the critical need to reverse this trend to safeguard Ghana's economic future.

“This is all lost revenue to the government of Ghana. At the moment, the sector is vulnerable. It is being exploited by organised crime groups. The threats are growing. The gold smuggling has more than doubled. We want to disrupt illegal mining and illicit financial inflows. Ghana loses more than US$2 billion yearly to gold smuggling”, he said.

The UK government's concerns align with growing national and international calls for reforms in Ghana's mining sector, particularly in curbing illegal activities and improving regulatory oversight.

Security analyst Prof. Emmanuel Kwesi Aning described Ghana as being in a 'GalamState' due to the failure of state actors to clamp down on illegal mining activities. He likened the failed fight to "crime convergence," where mistrust in security agencies and lax laws encourage impunity.

Prof. Aning warned that Ghana may soon face severe security, environmental, and economic consequences of destructive galamsey activities.

“Ghana has now been characterised as a ‘GalamState’, ‘GalamState’ is a state that is captured, and linked to a higher force of grand corruption. In a ‘GalamState’, the practice is normalized and the people are silenced or limited to mere noises on the sidelines,'' he stated.

“The crimes and collusion are so intertwined. To stop galamsey, we need to look at multiple other institutions that make these crimes possible and where there are embedded individual and group interests,'' he added.

The UK-Ghana Gold Programme (UKGGP) works with the Ghanaian government to regulate artisanal small-scale gold mining, prevent environmental degradation, and safeguard miners' health and well-being.

As Ghana struggles to contain this epidemic, the international community watches with bated breath, hoping for decisive action to stem the tide of gold smuggling and ensure a brighter economic future for the country.

Source: Lead News Online