A recent technical analysis written by Professor Ebo Turkson has drawn criticism from mining expert Wisdom Gomashie, who asserts that the rise in gold purchases by the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) is proof of a notable decrease in gold smuggling.
According to Dr Turkson’s research, GoldBod returned roughly 40 tonnes of gold—worth about US$3.8 billion—that had previously been trafficked out of Ghana to the official economy in just 2025.
In response, Gomashie called the findings “unfortunate” and lacking academic credibility in a Facebook post on January 12, 2025.
“So, an increase in purchases from 63 tonnes in 2024 to 103 tonnes in 2025 indicates that 40 tonnes, or the difference between 103 and 63, were smuggled the year before? He wrote, “This analysis is weak and uninteresting, and it will not pass any academic work.”
Higher purchase volumes by themselves, according to Gomashie, cannot prove a decrease in smuggling.
According to him, there is a fundamental error in the idea that the 40-tonne rise represents gold that was previously smuggled out of the nation.
In his piece, he also highlighted a number of policy realities that contradict the report’s conclusions.
“Are you aware that no small-scale mining licences were issued by the mining ministry in 2025? Do you know that the government declared that mining in forest reserves was prohibited? Even after LI2462 was rescinded in December 2025, illicit mining continued in forest reserves. And illicit mining in forest reserves has continued despite its revocation?
In his conclusion, Gomashie questioned the analysis’s validity and insisted that it didn’t accurately reflect Ghana’s mining industry.
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