The Gold Buyers Association of Ghana (GBAG) has called on Government to tackle the influx of foreigners in gold buying business.
The Association recently expressed concerns over how foreign individuals took over the business to the detriment of local gold buyers in the country.
According to them, the foreigners traveled to the mining areas to compete with local gold buyers – a situation which was affecting their businesses adversely.
The Minerals Commission in a statement denied the concerns of the local buyers.
The Commission said its records showed that all licensed gold dealers kept their revenue within the country, as stipulated by the law.
The statement said that gold exports were regulated by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA – Customs Division) and the Minerals Commission.
It said that currently, 20 gold exporters had been granted license by the Minister.
It gave the breakdown as; 11 Ghanaian exporters representing 55 per cent; 5 Indian exporters representing 25 per cent; one German; one Australian and two Lebanese, both representing 20 per cent.
Ashanti Regional President of the GBAG, Autel Solomon, said the Commission deviated in its response as it failed to address the major concerns raised by gold dealers.
He indicated that although the foreigners were licensed to operate in the country, they were not allowed to deal with the miners directly.
“We were asking them whether the foreigners were taking over the business from the local gold buyers and they were mentioning figures. That was not the response we expected from the commission,” he stressed.
He further said, they expected the Commission to address the restriction on the foreigners, rather than tackling it loosely.
He therefore asked Government to address the issue with all the seriousness it deserved.