PMMC produces GHS15.2 million tax revenue for government

The Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), Ghana’s premiere gold marketing and jewellery manufacturing company, has produced over GHC15.2 million in tax revenue to the government of Ghana in the first six months of 2020.

 PMMC has also paid off its entire foreign legacy debts of over $2.5m as of August 2019 although the cedi legacy debts continue to pose a major challenge to the company, a challenge which the Board and Management are determined to resolve. This solid performance has improved the financial and investment profile of the company, which had been losing revenue and ensconced in a cycle of bad management by previous administrations.

The fortunes of the company were turned onto a positive path in 2017 with the appointment of a new Board of Directors by President Nana Akufo-Addo, chaired by Hon. Kiston Akomeng Kissi, who took over and managed a near moribund company, saddled with huge debts and was struggling to pay staff salaries.

The main priority of the new Board of Directors was to find innovative solutions to reduce the financial liabilities of the company and find new streams of revenue to ensure that PMMC eventually becomes a profitable company. Other members of the Board appointed include Hon. Kwadjo Opare-Hammond (Managing Director, now deceased), Nana Akwasi Awuah, a legal practitioner, Alhaji Musah Fuseini-Codjoe, Samuel Evans Ashong-Narh, Janet Emefa Obro-Adibo, Kofi Mensah Demitia (who became Ambassador to Togo) and Hon. Mavis Nkansah-Boadu, MP (now Deputy Ministry for Roads and Highways)

Among the early initiatives the Board took was to assert its role as the National Auditor. By this, the Company was mandated to check all gold leaving Ghana via export. As the National Auditor therefore, PMMC provides the Government of Ghana revenue assurance in terms of the volumes and values of gold exports. This initiative, while providing critical value for government, created a new revenue source for the company, thereby improving its financial situation.

In line with its role as National Auditor, PMMC also commenced active engagement with Ghana’s Central bank, the Bank of Ghana, to fashion out mechanisms and protocols for PMMC to act as the official Auditor in the Bank’s Domestic Gold Purchase Program (DGPP). This initiative came to full fruition in June 2021 when the Bank commenced implementation of the DGPP which has so far seen it purchase about 100kg of gold to shore up Ghana’s gold reserves.

It is no secret that Ghana’s gold trade industry can be chaotic and punctuated by many fraudulent schemes. Many unsuspecting businessmen have sold many ounces of gold and diamond articles that have turned out to be fake on the open market. This causes a lot of investor anxiety and wanes business confidence in the precious minerals trade in Ghana.

The Board being concerned by this phenomenon took a decision to digitalize the National Check Laboratory. The digitalization of the laboratory meant a shift from the handwritten check Certificates to printed ones with distinct security features, making it difficult for scammers to forge these certificates to pursue their fraudulent schemes in the gold trade. This has brought sanity within the industry and reduced the many incidents of fraud.

Ghana, formerly known as the Gold Coast, has been a major producer and exporter of gold since the very early days when the Europeans set foot on the land of the Gold Coast. Currently, Ghana was ranked as the largest producer of gold outranking South Africa. Despite this prestige, Ghana cannot boast of a functional gold refinery except for the abandoned dilapidated structure in Tarkwa where Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah attempted to establish.

The Board therefore took a strategic investment decision to enter into a joint venture partnership to establish a gold refinery. Nana Akwasi Awuah, a Board Member, who as a result of his legal expertise was appointed to become the Board Secretary, and he was instrumental in finalizing a joint venture agreement for the establishment of Ghana’s first state-owned Gold Refinery. The refinery, which has a full daily capacity of 300 to 500 kg, is expected to commence operations by the end of 2021. In order to competently compete on the international market, the company is also pursuing the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certification so that it can produce and sell Good Delivery Bars (refined gold).