Review the Mining Act 2006 and ensure compliance of the laws – NRGI tells gov’t
The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) has tabled for the country’s mining sector, five (5) resource governance related recommendations.
The recommendations, the NRGI asserts in its 2021 Resource Governance Index report, will help Ghana continue on the positive resource governance trajectory it is currently on.
The NRGI in its report, has described the performance of the mining sector as “satisfactory”.
The mining sector per the NRGI’s resource governance index, attained a composite score of 69 out of 100 points.
The score marks 13 points increase in the 56 points score recorded by the index in 2017.
The increase in score was due to improvements across both the index’s value realization and revenue management components, with notable increases in governance of local impacts and national budgeting.
But according to the NRGI, Ghana’s oil and gas sector features a more robust legal framework than the mining sector, especially in terms of licensing, where mandatory contract disclosures are required by law, and in taxation, where the Petroleum Revenue Management Act requires the full public disclosure on all payments and receipts from oil and gas producers to the government.
The mining sector legislation, it says lacks such good governance stipulations.
Read: Ghana scores 54 out of 100 in mining sector revenue management – Report
In view of that, the NRGI has made the following recommendations to aid improve n the country’s resource governance framework in the mining sector;
1. The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Mineral Commission should accelerate and leverage the on-going review of the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 to strengthen the legal framework governing the mining sector. Legislation must be improved to enhance disclosures in licensing, beneficial ownership information as well as asset declaration by public officials.
2. Relevant government agencies and ministries should adhere to open data principles in line with commitments made through Ghana’s Open Government Partnership National Action Plan.
3. The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Finance Ministry and the Minerals Commission should ensure compliance and enforcement of existing laws in the mining sector. If the implementation gap widens, companies and citizens could lose faith in the legal framework. Newly passed laws, such as the local content law, may therefore not translate to improved local impacts in the mining sector.
4. Prestea Sankofa Gold Limited should study GNPC’s transparency practices and adopt best practice approaches to state enterprise governance before resuming operations.
5. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Energy, along with other key governmental actors, should collaborate with civil society organizations, and the Ghana EITI to ensure that Ghana meets the standard requirements of the EITI.
Ghana’s gold mining sector is one of the oldest in Africa, and retains a crucial role in the Ghanaian economy. In 2019 gold exports were valued at $10.8 billion, comprising 50 percent of all merchandise exports.
The governance of the mining sector has improved since the 2017 RGI, driven by a 22-point increase in the index’s value realization component, and a 17-point increase in revenue management. Ghana’s enabling environment has continued to provide a good foundation for resource governance.
The Resource Governance Index (RGI) serves as a key point indicator in the extractive sector governance in resource-producing countries around the world. It also serves as a global benchmark, country and sector diagnostic tool, and a roadmap for policy and practice reform.
The 2021 Resource Governance Index assesses how 18 resource-rich countries are managing their oil, gas, and mineral wealth. The composite index has three components. Two measure essential characteristics of the extractive sector, namely value realization and revenue management, and the third analyses the enabling environment.
