Ghana losing about $2bn annually to galamsey, gold smuggling – UK gov’t raises alarm

The UK government has expressed deep concern over the increasing rate of gold smuggling in Ghana, highlighting the severe impact it has on the country’s revenue generation.

According to estimates, Ghana loses approximately $2 billion annually in tax revenue due to smuggling and illegal gold operations.

In 2022 alone, nearly 60 tonnes of gold were reportedly smuggled out of the country, exacerbating the financial losses.

The UK has stressed that if left unchecked, the combination of unregulated mining practices and illegal small-scale mining, known locally as galamsey, will continue to have devastating consequences for Ghana’s economy.

Speaking at a Civil Society Organization (CSO) meeting with political parties on mining reforms and governance, Chris Aston, team lead for the UK Ghana Gold Programme (UKGGP), called for urgent and decisive action from Ghanaian authorities to address the issue.

Aston emphasised that reversing this trend is critical for safeguarding Ghana’s economic future.

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

“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-Ghana Gold Programme (UKGGP) collaborates with the Government of Ghana to ensure that artisanal small-scale gold mining is properly regulated and that existing regulations are effectively enforced.

The programme aims to unlock the full potential of artisanal mining to benefit Ghanaians, while also preventing environmental degradation and safeguarding the health and well-being of miners.

At the same event, security analyst, Prof. Emmanuel Kwesi Aning said Ghana has been thrown into what can best be termed as a ‘GalamState’, due to the failure of state actors to clamp down on illegal mining activities.

Prof. Aning likened the failed fight against the canker to crime convergence, where the mistrust in the security agencies and almost non-existent laws have encouraged many to engage in illegality with impunity.

Prof. Anning warned that Ghana could soon witness the worst security, environmental, and economic effects 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.

“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.”