Good news for gold smuggling whistleblowers

In order to maintain the gold for oil program, Ghana is exploring a number of measures, including paying whistleblowers with gold when they reveal smugglers.

According to Energy Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, maintaining the current gold-for-oil strategy requires tighter control over the quantity of gold leaving the nation’s borders.

The agreement that the government struck to handle the soaring gasoline costs is still paying off in terms of pricing.

However, for the agreement to remain in effect, gold must be available for the Bank of Ghana to exchange for cheaper petroleum.

Making Ghanaians watchdogs in the battle against gold smuggling, Dr. Prempeh stated in a speech to the Rotary Club of Accra Ring Road Central on Tuesday, will assist continue the program and be highly advantageous for the nation.

“We’re saying anybody who gives a tipoff or tells us and identifies anybody smuggling gold and leads to an arrest, that person will get 20% of the gold. And I’m sure very soon they’ll come up.

“Because I believe that nobody makes 20% of this whole business, the person who is coming to buy the gold doesn’t make 20%.

“So if Ghanaians who are aiding them to smuggle the gold now can benefit from 20% [the smuggling will be curtailed],” he said.

While the prize is still merely a proposal, he said that measures are being done to make it an official policy.

“The level that is being exported to lobby is gradually tipping, so we might come up formally and announce that policy,” he said.