President John Dramani Mahama has lauded the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod). He said by exercising greater sovereignty over its natural resources, the establishment of the Ghana Gold Board had given the government greater control over its gold exports. “In 2024, the total gold exports from the small-scale mining sector were set to amount to 63 tons,” President Mahama said in his remarks at the Africa Trade Summit 2026 in Accra. He said the African Continental Free Trade Area was the most ambitious integration project ever in the history of the African continent. President Mahama said Ghana’s experience reinforced key lessons; declaring that industrialisation worked when policies were deliberate, infrastructure reliable, skills developed, and macroeconomic stability maintained.