The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) is tightening oversight of the country’s gold trading system by requiring licensed buyers to record and report purchases almost immediately after transactions are completed, part of broader efforts to improve transparency and reduce trading losses in the sector.
In a directive to licensed gold buyers, GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi said all purchases must be booked with financing partners or aggregators within five minutes of a transaction, alongside mandatory issuance of official receipts carrying the exact transaction time.
The new compliance push signals the government’s attempt to build a more centralized and traceable gold trading ecosystem as Ghana seeks to maximize revenue from its booming small-scale mining sector and strengthen oversight of gold exports.
“You buy, you book, you buy, you book,” Gyamfi said in an address to licensed gold buyers, emphasizing the need for real-time reporting of transaction volumes, prices and gold purity levels.
Under the directive, all licensed buyers operating under the Ghana Gold Board framework must maintain detailed purchase and sales records and make them available for inspection upon request by GoldBod officials.
The tighter reporting timeline is intended to allow the Gold Board to immediately track purchases and execute corresponding sales arrangements with off-takers, reducing delays that could expose the state or intermediaries to price fluctuations in international gold markets.
The measures underscore the increasing commercial sophistication of Ghana’s gold aggregation system, where rapid swings in bullion prices can create exposure for traders and state-linked purchasing entities if transactions are not matched quickly.
Ghana, Africa’s largest gold producer after South Africa in some years, has been expanding efforts to formalize artisanal and small-scale mining, which contributes significantly to national output but has historically operated through fragmented and loosely monitored trading networks.
The Gold Board structure was introduced as part of government efforts to improve traceability, increase foreign exchange inflows and reduce gold smuggling. Authorities have also been attempting to strengthen oversight of licensed aggregators and intermediaries financing gold purchases across mining communities.
By insisting on near real-time booking of transactions, the Gold Board is moving toward a more digitized commodity trading framework capable of tracking gold flows and pricing movements more efficiently.
The stricter documentation requirements could also improve audit trails and support regulatory enforcement at a time when authorities are under pressure to tighten controls across Ghana’s extractive industries.
The directive did not specify penalties for non-compliance, though the terms of GoldBod licenses already require adherence to reporting and receipting obligations.
