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President John Dramani Mahama has unveiled a bold new initiative to tackle illegal gold smuggling and corruption in Ghana’s mineral sector with the inauguration of the GoldBod Taskforce, a high-level inter-agency team mandated to enforce transparency and accountability in gold trade operations.
At a ceremony held at the National Security Secretariat on Tuesday, July 8, President Mahama announced that every officer on the task force will be required to wear body cameras during all field operations — a first for national anti-mining enforcement teams.
“Every member of the task force will operate under strict oversight,” President Mahama said. “All officers will wear body cameras in every operation they undertake.”
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The GoldBod Taskforce is composed of specially trained personnel from the National Security, the Ghana Armed Forces, and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies. According to President Mahama, team members were carefully selected after passing rigorous background vetting, polygraph testing, and a comprehensive orientation on the Minerals and Mining Act (Act 1040).
The president emphasised that officers also completed intensive anti-corruption training and team-building exercises, reflecting the government’s zero-tolerance stance on illicit behaviour within the extractive sector.
“The inauguration of the GoldBod Taskforce signals our readiness to act decisively,” Mahama declared. “We are not just responding—we are preparing a proactive force that is equipped, trained, and accountable.”
To enhance operational integrity, Mahama outlined several oversight measures, including:
- No taskforce operation shall commence without a written warrant from the taskforce’s CEO.
- All vehicles deployed for missions will be GPS tracked in real time.
- Whistleblower channels have been established, with a 10% reward of recovered gold or cash for credible tips that lead to successful recoveries.
President Mahama appealed to the general public to support the initiative and take an active part in safeguarding Ghana’s mineral wealth from theft and exploitation.
“Whistleblowers are key partners in this fight. If you blow the whistle and gold or cash is retrieved, you will receive 10% of the value,” he reiterated.
The GoldBod Taskforce forms part of broader reforms under Mahama’s second administration to restore sanity to Ghana’s mineral sector, improve state revenue from natural resources, and eliminate illegal gold trading syndicates that have evaded oversight for years.
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