Gold Prism

Ghanaians: Central Europe, UK, the Americas, Asia and beyond – the migration is simply a response to the savor of opportunities underlying the advanced economies. In same vein, the diversification attracts many to Ghana with the prospect of alluvial gold. Like most migrant workers in overseas countries, the Ghanaian workforce bear the brunt of labor floundering, that is, for those blessed with employee opportunities: the Ghanaian entrepreneurs skid through with various forms of capital initiatives including host country secured lending. In same vein, foreigners, mostly entrepreneurs undertake the venture to one of Africa’s most endowed mineral formations; they have found little reason for the cries of joy in Ghana.

Several cases have been heard, yet the innovation stays ahead with the latest schemes of luring unsuspecting gold merchants in corporate romance that though has accounted for increased fraudulent foreign exchange in Ghana, yet holds a fast paced decrease in national integrity for the Republic and our West African sub region. It pays to hold the citizens accountable in the connivance with artisans, the Kings (Nanas) and such groups that have made the dynamics of gold fraud in Ghana a growing concern.

On November 13, 2012 when one of KLM’s flights to Accra touched down at Kotoka Airport, a foreigner arrived Ghana as a consultant to help artisan miners with the name “Goldmine Investment Company Limited and Rimmyrose Enterprises” in the development of gold trade.

That foreigner recorded losses up to $21,000.00 in cash and kind. His clients Prince Francis Atta – Managing Director of Rimmyrose Enterprises, and his partner Mutakilu Yakubu, both being acclaimed miners, laid the foundation to stripe the consultant of monies within the context of paying required taxes for gold exports through an export agent, Gimmy Mawulie of Givated Company Limited in Hatso, Accra.

The business consultant was also named as a sales mandate with a power of attorney from the said miners, thus nurturing the hopes of compensation after the fulfillment of his task to deliver 2kg gold to a refinery in USA. He committed funds to the export process that was purportedly stalled by a self-acclaimed King in disagreement; his monies are down the drain as he returns to base on another KLM flight. The twist is, the miners maintain that they are not scammers, yet the monies due to the consultant is tightly fastened in their grip as they return to the mines for business as usual.

In retrospect, the Mineral Commission responded to a Texas Law School publication of 2011, “the cost of gold”. The extraction in this context is focused on corruption and access to justice in the matters of gold. It is our contention that though most streets of Accra are yet to be named, the houses are yet to be numbered with people virtually living their correspondence lives out of post office boxes in a robotic age. Ghanaians are widely traveled, and educated. We have been icons of honesty in the sub Saharan region, faze or real; thus as we return from the polls in December, we urge the Federal authorities to implement policies that will check the gold mining society against running the national integrity aground.

True or False? If gold fraud were a capital offense, 0.1Ghanaians out of ten only would survive.