Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has highlighted the severe impact of illegal gold smuggling on the country’s economy.
The Finance Minister revealed that an estimated 60 tonnes of gold, worth around $1.2 billion, were smuggled out of the country during 2022, deepening the financial challenges Ghana faced during that period.
Forson stressed the importance of curbing these illegal activities, emphasizing how much the country could have benefited economically if this gold had stayed within Ghana’s borders.
He pointed out that gold is one of the nation’s most valuable resources, and the illicit trade has long deprived Ghana of significant revenue.
To address the issue, Dr. Forson announced that he had met with officials from the UK-Ghana Gold Programme. This collaboration aims to sever the connections between illegal mining and organized crime while ensuring Ghana fully benefits from its gold resources.
The program seeks to combat the illegal trade that has been detrimental to the nation’s financial health.
