Amid accusations that GoldBod had appointed a single company to monopolise gold purchases, Sammy Gyamfi said critics were misunderstanding or misrepresenting the institution’s operational model.
“GoldBod has a four-tier gold buying system,” he explained on Newsfile monitored by MyNewsGh. “So when people say Bower Rock is the only one buying gold, they simply lack information.”
According to Gyamfi, GoldBod issued 900 buying licences in 2025 alone, spanning Tier One grassroots buyers, Tier Two buyers, self-financing aggregators, and aggregators. Bower Rock, he said, falls only within the final category.
“There were 31 applications for aggregator licences,” Gyamfi revealed. “Only Bower Rock met the eligibility criteria.”
He emphasised that becoming an aggregator is fundamentally different from other licences because it allows access to state funds.
“This is not a privilege we hand out casually,” he said. “An aggregator must provide a bank or insurance guarantee to secure taxpayers’ money.”
In Bower Rock’s case, Gyamfi disclosed that the company provided an advance payment guarantee covering GH¢2 billion. “That is why the board approved the application,” he said.
He rejected suggestions of exclusivity, noting that the process remains open. “Today we have one aggregator. Tomorrow we can have ten, or even zero, if licences are revoked or new applicants qualify.”
For Gyamfi, the controversy reflects a deeper misunderstanding of risk management. “We are not a zombie institution where any Tom, Dick and Harry walks in and gets billions of cedis,” he said.
