Dr. Steve Manteaw, co-chair of the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), has denied rumors that the Gold Board (GoldBod) is buying gold at a discount from small-scale miners.
In response to recent remarks made by Ghanaian politician Kofi Koranteng on Joy Prime TV, Dr. Manteaw characterized the statements as untrue and accompanied by “sheer ignorance or malice on display,” stressing that they are deceptive and without foundation.
GoldBod is not buying gold at a discount. I say this on authority, as Co-Chair of the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and an expert on the subject,” Dr. Manteaw stated.
He clarified that foreign exchange fluctuations, not any fictitious discount imposed by GoldBod, are the cause of the variation in local gold prices as compared to prior years.
The cedi devalued to almost GHC17 to the dollar during the previous administration, he continued. Miners were paid more in cedi at the time because the global price of gold was multiplied by 17.
Mandatory Receipts Now Compulsory For Gold Transactions — GoldBod Announces
“The cedi has appreciated to about GHC12 to the dollar today,” he stated, meaning that the same international price multiplied by 12 gives less.
Hearing people talk “as if they were authority on the subject” is “annoying,” Dr. Manteaw said, cautioning that such remarks confuse the public and skew economic knowledge of the industry.
