A total of Ghs 32.4 million in paid ground rent accrued to landowners (stool lands) for the period between 2014 and 2018.
The Ghs 32.4 million ground rent recorded from 2014 to 2018, GHEITI notes in its report, represents a 99.93 per cent additional ground rent revenue realised from the implementation of the GHEITI-inspired fiscal reforms in ground rent charges under the Fees and Charges Amendment Instrument 2014; LI 2216.
According to GHEITI, a finding in 2010 indicated that mining companies in the country were paying as little as Ghs 0.50 per square kilometre (Sq.Km2) of land.
On the back of this, a recommendation for a review of the ground rent charges under the Fees and Charges Amendment Instrument was made in 2010 by GHEITI and subsequently approved by Parliament in 2014.
The review in ground rent charges saw mining companies being charged Ghs 3, 788 per square kilometre (Sq.Km2) of land.
“The new rates are now being effectively implemented by the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands (OASL) and yielding additional revenues, even though Ground rent revenues accrues to landowners and not central government. The OASL receives and remits Ground rents with respect to stool lands, according to section 23 (2) of the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (Act 703),” stated the report.
Meanwhile, some Ghs 33.4 million was accrued to state institutions such as the Minerals Commission and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as licenses/environmental permit fees from 2004 to 2018.
The GHEITI report scheduled to be launched on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, analyses the resulting revenue impact of some fiscal reforms recommended by the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) to government.
According to the report, fiscal reforms recommended by GHEITI to government, on average increased revenue from the extractive sector to Ghs 706 million ($280 million), from a previous average revenue of Ghs 46.3 million ($51.4 million) realised in 2004/2005, which represents a 15 times increment in extractive sector revenue for government.
