In a land rich with glittering gold, Ghana’s prosperity tale takes a somber turn. The nation, a powerhouse in gold production on the African continent and globally, boasts a staggering output of around 4.2 million ounces in 2023, reeling in an impressive $9.6 billion in export earnings.
Underneath the gleaming surface lies a harsh reality for many Ghanaians, especially those dwelling in the shadow of mining hubs. While gold stands as the cornerstone of Ghana’s economic edifice, a significant portion of the riches it yields is spirited away, leaving ordinary citizens grappling with scant benefits and mounting challenges.
The Crux of the Conundrum
The core of the issue lies in a stark disparity in wealth distribution. Though Ghana holds the coveted gold mines, a considerable portion of the profits takes flight beyond its borders. Most mining enterprises are in foreign hands, resulting in a scenario where after satisfying tax obligations and royalties, a substantial chunk of the earnings bids adieu to Ghana’s shores.
In a disheartening turn of events, data from 2024 unraveled that mining conglomerates whisked over $3.3 billion offshore, relegating Ghana to a meager under $5 billion via official channels. This lopsided equation means that the wealth churned seldom metamorphoses into tangible enhancements like robust infrastructure, well-equipped educational institutions, top-tier healthcare amenities, or employment avenues.
Nowhere is this reality more poignant than in mining enclaves such as Obuasi, Tarkwa, and Dunkwa. What were once pristine waterways like the Pra, Ankobra, and Birim now languish under a toxic shroud of mercury and cyanide.
Scarce clean drinking water, despoiled farmlands, and ailing agriculture, the lifeblood of countless families, paint a distressing picture. A distressed farmer in Tarkwa bemoaned, “We watch the gold ebb away each day, yet our offspring quench their thirst with contaminated water, and our fields lie barren.”
Galamsey Grimness
The scourge of galamsey, clandestine small-time mining operations, compounds the crisis. Battling flagging job prospects, hordes of youth turn to galamsey as a lifeline. Nevertheless, the ecological havoc wrought by its ruinous techniques turbidating rivers, denuding forests, and tainting water sources with noxious chemicals poses an existential threat to sustainable livelihoods.
Fishing hamlets reel under the ravages as befouled rivers drive aquatic creatures into oblivion. Despite concerted governmental crackdowns, the blight of galamsey persists, buoyed by lax enforcement, ingrained corruption, and the desperation of the unemployed youth, thwarting eradication efforts.
Amidst this quagmire, Ghana hemorrhages precious billions through gold smuggling. Estimates paint a picture of staggering losses amounting to $11.4 billion from unrecorded exports during the 2013-2018 span, with much of the plunder funneling towards the United Arab Emirates.
Strides Towards Reform
Mining behemoths often invoke their corporate social responsibility endeavors to assuage the uproar. The Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, for instance, has channeled substantial resources into community welfare projects encompassing educational hubs, clinics, and roadways in Tarkwa and Damang.
Yet, the denizens of these locales argue that such initiatives scarcely offset the environmental degradation, upheaval, and destitution left in their wake. Responding to mounting pressures, the government unfurled a slew of reforms. Come March 2025, the GoldBod Bill birthed the Ghana Gold Board, entrusted with overseeing the buying, selling, weighing, grading, and export of artisanal and small-scale gold.
A pivotal provision bars foreigners from directly procuring gold within Ghana, mandating all transactions to be transacted in Ghanaian cedis. To amplify local miners’ standing, GoldBod earmarked a staggering $279 million to procure up to three tonnes of gold weekly.
Further alterations implemented in July 2025 sliced the tenure of mining licenses, nixed auto-renewals, and dictated that enterprises fork over a fixed share of their proceeds directly to communities hosting their operations. Breaches in environmental or social commitments now spell license jeopardy for errant firms.
A Waiting Game for Communities
Notwithstanding these overhauls, a segment of Ghanaians remains unswayed. Settlements encircling mining spheres grapple with dearth in rudimentary services, children embark on arduous quests for potable water, and farmers agonize over fallow expanses. Fishing families watch in dismay as rivers yield naught but a lifeless tide.
Sages in the field posit that Ghana must plow fiercer in its reformation efforts. Ramped-up environmental policing, transparent management of gold proceeds, and a pivot towards empowering local value-addition sectors like refineries and jewelry forging emerge as non-negotiables.
In the absence of these vital pivots, Ghana risks teetering as a raw material exporter, nourishing foreign coffers at the cost of domestic impoverishment.
An Aurum-Anemic “Gold Coast”
Traditionally dubbed the Gold Coast, Ghana’s golden veneer evokes scant exuberance among its denizens. Witnessing the daily exodus of wealth while their vicinities wear a cloak of underdevelopment and ecological scarring paints a grim portrait.
Until the tides turn and mining serves Ghanaians as a galvanizing engine churning out employability, infrastructure marvels, and sustainable livelihoods, the sheen of the country’s gold shall continue to shimmer solely for external beneficiaries.
By Janet Amponsah Amankwah
