ACTING CEO of the GoldBod, Sammy Gyamfi Esq., has categorically debunked claims circulating in sections of the media and among critics, including members of the Minority in Parliament and the NPP, that the newly passed GoldBod Bill criminalizes personal possession of gold, including gold jewelry and traditional regalia.
In a strongly worded statement titled “Clearing the Misconceptions About the GoldBod (Part 2)”, Gyamfi clarified that there is no provision in the GoldBod Bill passed by Parliament and awaiting Presidential assent that criminalizes the mere possession or personal storage of gold.
According to him, Clause 68(1) of the bill only prohibits hoarding of gold without lawful authority. He stressed that hoarding, as defined under Clause 74, refers to the accumulation of gold beyond reasonable business needs with the intent to manipulate market conditions or cause artificial scarcity – a clear distinction from personal or traditional ownership.
Gyamfi emphasized that Clause 68(2) further reinforces this by stating explicitly that the prohibition on hoarding “does not apply to a person in possession of gold for personal or value storage purposes.”
He accused critics of deliberately misleading the public, especially traditional authorities and gold owners, by suggesting that even chiefs or individuals keeping gold for ancestral or personal reasons could be criminalized under the law.
On the contrary, the CEO said, one of the key mandates of the GoldBod is to promote local gold value addition and encourage Ghanaians to invest in gold products like coins, bars, and tokens as a more reliable store of value than foreign currencies, particularly the U.S. dollar which the country mostly dwells on for its international transactions.
“This false claim is not only baseless but also undermines the strategic goals of the GoldBod in strengthening the value of the Ghana cedi through increased domestic gold usage,” Gyamfi added.
He assured the public that the GoldBod will roll out public education campaigns to clarify its role and eliminate the misinformation currently making rounds.
This marks the second official response from the GoldBod as it seeks to clarify and reinforce public understanding of its operations and the provisions of the GoldBod Bill.
Source:Nationaltyme.com
