All the licenses issued by the defunct Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) and the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources for gold trading have been rendered redundant by the GoldBod Act, CEO of the Ghana GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi, has said. He says beginning Monday, June 30, anybody who trades in gold without obtaining a license from the GoldBod does so illegally.
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Monday, June 30, Sammy Gyamfi stated that ignorance of the law is not an excuse; therefore, persons interested in gold trade should do the needful and apply to the GoldBod for the license. He said, “All the previous licenses that previous gold traders involved in gold trading had from the defunct PMMC and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources have all been revoked by the Ghana GoldBod Act.
“We will no longer continue to respect those licenses. Whereas we allow various stakeholders to buy gold, to trade gold, with other previous PMMC licenses or licenses to deal in gold issued by the Minister responsible for mines, the same is not the case as we speak today, that legal regime has come to an end.”
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He added “Even though we know that ignorance of the law is no excuse, we want to, for the last time, use your esteem platform to communicate to all our stakeholders across the country that they should do the needful. . we are not saying that you cannot apply for Gold Bod license today simply because the deadline has elapsed, that is not the meaning of the deadline.
“Anybody who wants to trade in gold can apply for a Gold Bod license at any time of their choice. Once you apply, we will consider your application in a spirit of fairness and transparency, and we will make sure that once you meet the eligibility criteria, you are given your license.
“What the deadline means is that if you do not have a Goldbod license as we speak today, you cannot legally buy or trade in gold in Ghana. All you have to do is wait, apply for the license, and be issued with the license before you engage in gold trading.”
By: Laud Nartey
