Ghana launches task force to curb gold smuggling losses
Ghana plans to implement a nationwide gold traceability system and transition to refined gold exports by 2026, Mahama said.
The country will also seek to capture more value from gold through an assay laboratory, certified by the International Organisation for Standardisation to guarantee quality, and a specialised manufacturing hub.
West African governments are striving to capture more revenue from surging commodity prices.
Military-led nations are adopting aggressive policies, including rewriting mining codes, seizing assets and renegotiating contracts, while democracies such as Ghana and Ivory Coast are pursuing measured reforms through higher royalties and enhanced revenue-sharing deals.
Gold prices have jumped 25% this year to date, and peaked at $3,500 (R62,300) per ounce in April, according to Reuters data.
Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mail & Guardian
3 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
FlySafair strike could go up to two weeks
The strike by FlySafair pilots could last as long as two weeks. (Wikimedia commons) The strike by The strike kicked off on Monday and was only meant to last a day, but after 90% of pilots represented by Solidarity decided the join the action, the airline 'decided to escalate the dispute and indicated that they would lock out the pilots for a period of seven days', the union said in a statement. 'Disruptions could last up to two weeks and The airline hit back at what it called the union's 'aggressive stance', saying it had implemented the defensive lockout after receiving notice of a strike to reduce flight disruptions. 'When employees give strike notice, they can legally stop and start work in short bursts, which can cause repeated disruptions until a deal is reached,' Kirby Gordon, the chief marketing officer at FlySafair, told the Mail & Guardian . He said anyone wanting to return to work could do so, but would be added into the next roster cycle. The claim that 90% of pilots joined the strike was 'entirely untrue', Gordon said. 'There is no way we would have been able to operate 150 flights yesterday [Monday] with 10% of our crew, so we need to be careful of their conjecture. Solidarity only represents about two-thirds of pilots, so 30% were not participating in the strike from the start,' Gordon said. 'Of those that are union members, a significant portion have chosen not to participate in the strike. So while there are many pilots staying away at the moment, the majority are actually at work.' On Tuesday, the airline said all flights on its schedule were departing as planned, but two had been cancelled. It added that its reduced schedule, implemented as a contingency last week, was in effect. FlySafair has rejected Solidarity's demand for a 10.5% increase on base salaries, as well as additional flight pay and bonuses, saying the sum of all the demands would amount to more than a 20% increase in overall cost to the company — 'an unsustainable escalation for any company'. The airline said it could only offer a 5.7% increase on base pay, which is 1.5% above inflation. 'This already substantial offer was made including other benefits — including a flight pay based bonus — which brings the total increase to 11.29% on a cost to company basis,' FlySafair added. 'This offer was designed to balance the other 1700 employees of the airline and the sustainability and resilience of the company with the demands of the pilots.' The parties are due to meet at the The airline's captains earn R1.8 million to R2.3 million annually — placing them within the top 1% of earners in South Africa, The airline says captains spent an average of 63 hours last month in the cockpit flying passengers, 'well within regulatory limits set by the Solidarity disputes the 'open' roster system the airline implemented earlier this year, saying it interferes with the pilots' down time because it is less structured and expects them to be on stand-by. The union wants pilots to be guaranteed at least one three-day weekend off every five weeks, a minimum of two consecutive days off per roster cycle, and the ability to swop single off days with other pilots. The union also wants all rostered off days to count toward pilots' annual leave allocation, said Helgard Cronje , the general secretary of public industry at Solidarity. 'It does make the roster to a certain extent more fixed, but it's still an open roster in essence. We get that the operational flexibility is important for the long-term sustainability of the company, but essentially there should be a balance. It cannot be in total control of the company and there should be some protection measures for the pilots,' he said. The airline insists the system is in line with the global airline industry and has been implemented by all other airlines in the country and 'allows pilots to receive their full monthly rosters by the 20th of the preceding month, enabling personal planning and scheduling'. 'Attempts by Solidarity to alter or limit this system would strip away its key benefits, undermining FlySafair's ability to compete with other airlines and maintain cost-effective operations,' it said.
Mail & Guardian
3 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
DA to support departmental budgets after Nobuhle Nkabane's axing
Fomer minister of higher education Nobuhle Nkabane. (@Dr_NohbuleN/X) President Ramaphosa's office After failed negotiations with small parties, including The DA, which had withheld its support for the budget in protest over corruption-accused ministers such as Nkabane and Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane staying in their posts, confirmed on Tuesday that it would now vote in favour of the Bill on Wednesday. 'The Democratic Alliance will support the 2024-25 Appropriation Bill following the president's decision to dismiss Minister Nkabane after sustained DA pressure. This decision is the crucial first step in holding compromised ministers accountable,' party leader John Steenhuisen said in a statement. 'We had earlier announced our intention to withhold support for the budgets of ministers implicated in wrongdoing unless dismissals occurred, and we also laid fraud charges against Minister Nkabane … These were not symbolic actions, they were principled stands backed by real consequence, and we will see these actions through to its conclusion.' The DA was particularly angry after Ramaphosa dismissed its deputy trade and industry minister, Andrew Whitfield, for travelling to the United States without permission, in what the president said was a contravention of cabinet protocols. The DA accused Ramaphosa of double standards, arguing that there had to be uniformity in how executive misconduct was handled. It said Whitfield's dismissal could not be justified while Nkabane, accused of lying to parliament and shifting blame onto senior officials, remained in office, and that it would continue to put pressure on the president to remove compromised leaders from cabinet. 'There are still individuals in the executive facing serious allegations. If the president is serious about restoring public trust, he must act decisively and consistently, not only when under pressure,' Steenhuisen said on Tuesday. The DA's position had the leading party in the coalition government scrambling over the weekend to secure enough votes to pass the Appropriation Bill. On Sunday, ANC secretary general 'The engagement will be one with political parties … in terms of making sure that we pass the Appropriation and get the budget across,' he said. But by that point, the DA had made clear that no amount of dialogue would sway its stance without action on errant ministers. On Tuesday Steenhuisen said the ANC — which had to form the unity government after losing its parliamentary majority in last year's general elections — must accept 'that it no longer governs alone'. 'In a coalition, meaningful consultation with partners is not optional. It is essential to rebuild public confidence and ensure accountable governance. We will continue to engage the GNU parties in good faith to stop corruption and drive delivery in government,' he said. 'While long overdue, the removal of Minister Nkabane confirms that pressure from the DA within the government of national unity is yielding results … The DA will not allow compromised individuals in the executive to paralyse government or harm the people of this country. 'We will use every tool at our disposal in parliament and in government to protect public money, defend the Constitution, and ensure that ethical, accountable leadership becomes the norm, and that this dismissal is not the exception.' This suggests the DA will continue pressing for the dismissal of Simelane — who was implicated in the looting of the now collapsed VBS Mutual Bank — and that of suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu if ongoing investigations confirm that he is Mchunu says he is innocent of any wrongdoing. The call for Mchunu's head was echoed by uMkhonto weSizwe party's chief whip, Colleen Maluleke, who accused Ramaphosa during a media briefing on Tuesday of being hypocritical by firing Nkabane while only suspending the police minister. Meanwhile, ActionSA, which is not in the GNU, confirmed that it had been approached by the ANC to back the budget. Chairperson Michael Beaumont criticised what he called the ANC's inconsistent approach to coalition governance, saying its failure to adequately work with ActionSA showed it did not consider the party a potential partner. He said ActionSA had taken a position based on fiscal responsibility and would not be pressured into supporting a budget that did not meet its conditions. 'We're only going to support Bills that make sense, not because we are pressured into it. As it stands, there is no agreement between us,' he said. Build One South Africa leader He said the priority was to ensure that the budget was passed while continuing to advocate for long-term reform. 'South Africa needs urgent reforms. But in the meantime, we have to pass this budget to keep departments running,' Maimame said. Wednesday's Appropriation Bill vote follows the earlier passing of the Division of Revenue Bill, which sets out how funds are shared between national, provincial and local governments. The Appropriation Bill allocates specific amounts to each department. Legal advice received by Maimane's committee last month indicated that if even one departmental vote fails, the entire Appropriation Bill process cannot proceed. This created urgency in the ANC to ensure majority support.
The Herald
5 hours ago
- The Herald
Ibex, formerly Steinhoff, sells entire Pepkor stake for $1.5bn
Ibex Investment Holdings, formerly known as Steinhoff International, sold its entire 28% stake in clothing retailer Pepkor for $1.5bn (R26.4bn) via an accelerated book-building process. The company offered about one billion shares worth R28bn, according to the terms of the deal published on Monday. A bookrunner for the deal said on Tuesday the shares were priced at R25.45 per share. Steinhoff changed its name to Ibex in 2023 as part of a restructuring prompted by its 2017 accounting fraud that led to a stream of lawsuits and hefty losses. As part of efforts to lower its mountain of debt, Ibex had been lowering its stake in Pepkor, which owns the Pep and Ackermans clothing brands, over the past few years. Reuters
