Professor Anthony Kofi Osei-Fosu, an Economist at the Department of Economics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has urged government to prioritize regulation in the gold sector rather than engaging in direct operations. His comments come in response to Gold Board CEO, Sammy Gyamfi’s announcement of plans to establish a wholly state-owned, international-standard gold refinery.
The project is expected to boost local refining capacity and enhance Ghana’s influence in the global gold value chain. Speaking on Focus FM’s TeknoKrat show with host Khayrullah Issah Dobo, Prof. Osei-Fosu questioned the viability of government running such a refinery.
“From an economic perspective, government is often a poor manager in direct operations. When individuals and the private sector are in charge of production, efficiency is higher.
But government-led ventures tend to struggle. I doubt this will be any different,” he stated.
He further criticized Ghana’s reliance on external market forces without proper domestic policy frameworks. “Unfortunately, in Ghana, we depend too much on luck and what happens globally, instead of putting robust policies in place,” he added.
Instead of managing refining operations, Prof. Osei-Fosu recommended that government take charge of regulating gold prices and sales to the international market, while leaving refining and direct production to private investors.