African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, Francisca Tatchououp Belobe, has described Ghana’s Gold Board (GoldBod) as a model for mineral sector reforms that could help strengthen foreign exchange reserves, stabilise currencies and enhance economic resilience across Africa.
She said the establishment of GoldBod demonstrates how reforms in the mineral sector can be integrated into broader national development strategies, particularly by improving foreign exchange management and boosting international reserves.
Speaking at the Mining in Motion Conference on Monday, October 19, Ms Belobe noted that Ghana’s efforts to promote local content, strengthen domestic enterprises and increase value addition to its mineral resources offered valuable lessons for other African countries.
She commended President John Dramani Mahama for Ghana’s approach and said the African Union was interested in sharing the lessons from the initiative with other countries across the continent.
“The establishment of the Ghana Gold Board illustrates how mineral sector reform can serve broader national development objectives by improving foreign exchange, strengthening international reserves and supporting currency stability as well as macroeconomic resilience. The efforts to strengthen local content, domestic enterprises and mineral value addition also provide important lessons for other African countries,” she said.
Her remarks reinforce growing calls for African countries to pursue policies that enable them to retain a greater share of the value generated from their mineral resources while building stronger, more resilient economies.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) generated US$1.871 billion in foreign exchange from its artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold trading operations in September 2026, surpassing its monthly target of US$1.4 billion.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, September 30, GoldBod said the foreign exchange generated was channelled through authorised commercial banks and the Bank of Ghana to support stability in the foreign exchange market and boost reserve accumulation.
