Odacitizen.com News, Politics, Entertainment News & More
Related Articles
Accra, Ghana — Two of Ghana’s leading policy analysts, Bright Simons and Senyo Hosi, engaged in a heated exchange on live television while debating whether the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) has made real progress in curbing gold smuggling.
The sharp disagreement unfolded during a panel discussion on ChannelOne TV, where the effectiveness of GoldBod’s operations took center stage.
“Smuggling Has Not Been Eradicated” — Simons
Speaking on the programme, Bright Simons, Vice President of IMANI Africa, argued that GoldBod cannot be credited with eliminating gold smuggling in Ghana.
He said the continued arrests by the board were proof that the problem remains unresolved.
“When you want to stop smuggling, your primary targeting has to be law-enforcement-driven intelligence. It cannot only be incentives,” Simons said.
He cautioned against assuming that GoldBod’s activities had magically ended smuggling.
“Once smuggling continues to happen — which the GoldBod itself admits — we should not pretend that through some metaphysical mechanism, all smuggling has been cleared out. We don’t know the numbers,” he added.
Hosi Pushes Back: “GoldBod Never Made That Claim”
Simons’ comments drew a swift response from Senyo Hosi, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, who insisted that GoldBod has never claimed to have eradicated smuggling.
Hosi argued that increased gold export figures suggest the board is making progress.
“The data on gold exports shows improvement, and from that, we can extrapolate that GoldBod is making some progress,” Hosi said.
Data Dispute Sparks Heated Exchange
Simons countered by saying data available to him indicates that smuggling gaps still exist.
“The smuggling dynamic is hard to estimate, but the incentives have not changed. When we look at the importing side, our data suggests those gaps persist,” he said.
Hosi immediately challenged Simons to back up his claims.
“What data do you have for 2025 to show that it persists? Don’t say ‘our data.’ Show us the data,” Hosi fired back.
He accused Simons of making unsubstantiated claims.
“You keep saying you have data, but the data doesn’t exist. Tell everybody what the UAE told you that you claim shows the gaps still exist,” Hosi added.
Debate Ends Without Resolution
Simons maintained that data from gold offtakers indicates ongoing smuggling challenges, but Hosi repeatedly interrupted, demanding the evidence be presented publicly.
The exchange ended without resolution, highlighting deep divisions among policy experts over GoldBod’s effectivenessand the broader fight against gold smuggling in Ghana.
