REPORTS & STUDIES

The Public-Private Sector Dialogue on Mining Governance in Ghana series

November 3, 2014
For more than a century, Ghana, a mineral-rich country, has been engaged in the production of solid minerals for export. The country is the second-largest producer of gold in Africa after South Africa, the third-largest African producer of aluminum metal and manganese ore, and a significant producer of bauxite and diamond. However, there have been concerns that revenues from the exploitation of mineral resources have not been managed well over the years, and have therefore not resulted in the social and economic development of the country, particularly for mine-impacted communities.

The enactment of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) 2011 (Act 815) piqued interest in the management of resource revenues in general and mineral revenues in particular. This has in turn stimulated interest in the demand for a similar legal framework that will guide the collection, management, and use of mineral revenues.

This paper discusses key issues relating to the management of mineral revenues, including the need for a mineral revenue management policy in Ghana; ensuring that the general public has the opportunity to contribute towards revenue management policy formulation and implementation; the minimum standards of accountability and disclosure that should exist in relation to the management of mineral revenues by public institutions; and the lessons to be learned from the policy formulation and implementation of the PRMA.

This paper is the first in a series of working papers on “Public-Private Sector Dialogue on Mining Governance in Ghana,” funded by the Australian Government through the Australia-Africa Partnerships Facility (AAPF).  The Australian Government is supporting a series of public forums in Ghana to bring key players together to discuss the future of mining, and its role in promoting the transformative development of the nation. The African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) is partnering with AAPF to facilitate three forums.

The views and opinions presented in this working paper are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Australian Government.

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