The Deputy Minister for lands and natural resources, Hon. George Mireku Duker has implored the Western Regional (W/R) Gold Dealers Association (GDA) to avoid selling their goods(gold) to those who end up smuggling them out of the country.
The Deputy Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tarkwa Nsuaem constituency made this call during a town hall engagement with the Gold traders in Tarkwa yesterday.
The purpose of the meeting was to listen to the concerns of the gold dealers and also to use the opportunity to urge the gold traders to help government by contributing their quota in the fight against gold smugglers.
Again, the engagement was to discuss the need for dealers to revise how they use mercury in their gold recovery processes as well as reinvigorating their corporate social responsibilities.
Addressing the gathering, Hon. Duker appealed to the gold traders to help government in the fight against the gold smuggling menace by simply “stopping the sale of their goods to the foreigners in town who end up smuggling the precious metal outside the country without paying the necessary taxes”.
The Deputy Minister told the dealers that there are imminent plans by government to unleash a special task force to clamp down on all those illegal entities involved in the gold smuggling activities.
On the issue of the use of mercury in their gold recovery processes, Hon. Duker pleaded with the dealers to strictly adhere to the standard operating procedures so as to avoid the resultant health challenges for both workers(traders) and the locals.
Touching on their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR), the deputy Minister stressed on the need for the dealers to raise the bar a bit more on their social responsibilities to the catchment communities where they operate.
He said, “your activities and operation in these areas should have a direct correlation and positive impact on the socio-economic development of the indigenes.”
Hon. Duker also assured them of the government’s continuous commitment at supporting them with credit facilities, organizing capacity-building programs for them and aiding them in acquiring the necessary permits and licenses to operate.
The Chairman of the Gold Dealers Association, Alhaji Dauda Suleman Ackah, on his part raised concerns but largely commended the government for the engagement.
Alhaji Dauda further called for more support from the government to pre-finance their activities so that they could buy and sell to state entities like the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) and other State gold trading initiatives like the gold-4-oil policy.