Claim: "John D. Mahama placed a 40-50% moratorium on illegal and alluvial miners, and within six months Ghana's gold revenue doubled from $5.5 billion to $11 billion."
Verdict: MISLEADING
Full Text : On September 19, 2025, Onanuga claimed on the"'Class Reloaded" night time show that Ghana's President John Mahama had placed a 40-50% moratorium on illegal and alluvial miners, which he said led to gold revenues doubling from $5.5 billion to $11 billion within six months.
He made the claim at the 1:02:14-1:02:45 mark of the 2:55:25 broadcast.
John Mahama, who won Ghana's 2024 presidential election, previously served as President from January 7, 2013, to January 6, 2017.
The show was screen 22k viewers, and attracted 373 reactions with 1.1k comments.
Verification : President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana announced in 2025 a comprehensive government initiative to curb illegal mining activities, including measures that significantly tighten the permitting regime for excavators and heavy mining equipment, enforce a ban on toxic chemicals like mercury, and impose mandatory mine site rehabilitation clauses.
These actions aim to reduce illegal or alluvial mining practices, primarily known as galamsey, which cause severe environmental damage. However, specific mention of a 40-50 percent moratorium on illegal or alluvial mining was not found in the sources reviewed.
The government initiative includes requiring permits for importing excavators and implementing a nationwide tracking system to monitor mining equipment movements.
This stricter regulatory environment is intended to enhance sustainable mining and local economic growth. additionally, there is an emphasis on renewing community development agreements and promoting renewable energy use in mining operations.
To authenticate this information, TSM reviewed data from credible national and international sources, including the Bank of Ghana's 2024 Annual Report and Financial Statements, Reuters, and African Vibes reports.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) 2024 report shows that gold export earnings increased by 53.2 percent in 2024, rising from US$7.60 billion in 2023 to US$11.64 billion in 2024.
The increase was driven by a 23.7 percent rise in gold export volumes and higher global gold prices, averaging US$2,282.6 per fine ounce in 2024.
The report attributes the growth to responsible and regulated small-scale mining and sustained large-scale production, under Ghana's Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, initiated under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
According to African Vibes published on May 28, 2025, Ghana earned $5.2 billion from gold exports in the first four months of 2025, suggesting that the country could surpass US$12 billion by year-end. The article said the revenue surge was driven by global market trends and small-scale mining contributions, not a moratorium.
Similarly, a Reuters report (May 30, 2025) projected Ghana's gold output to rise by 6.25 percent to 5.1 million ounces in 2025, citing higher international prices and expanded production capacity, not a restrictive mining policy.
The Ghana Gold Board has also projected that small-scale mining reforms could yield about $12 billion annually due to better regulation and compliance.
Furthermore, it is noted that Mahama returned to office in January 2025, meaning any six-month economic impact could not be attributed to a policy implemented in his first few months, especially when no official record or announcement of such a moratorium exists.
Conclusion : We could not trace any link to the "40-50 percent moratorium" on illegal or alluvial mining in any available reports as mentioned by Chris, but the government of Mahama has introduced a broad suit of strict regulations as part of its crackdown on galamsey mining.
We found that Ghana's gold revenues surged in recent years, this growth is mainly due to global gold price increases, output expansion, and ongoing mining reforms, and squarely not due to the "40-50" percent Moratorium.
