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Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has expressed his displeasure over Ghana’s failure to generate adequate revenue from its rich natural resources and calls for an urgent need to take full advantage of it.
He noted with discomfort that the development has put the country at a financial disadvantage.
Speaking at the National Economic Dialogue, 2025 on Monday, March 3, the finance minister explained that despite Ghana’s extractive industry generates rent equivalent to 14 per cent of GDP, the government captures only 1.5 per cent in revenue.
“Natural resource rent is the difference between the revenue generated from a commodity and the cost of producing it. In Ghana, the extractive sector enjoys a rent of 14 per cent, yet the country is unable to fully benefit from this,” Dr. Ato Forson highlighted.
He shared the view that if Ghana captured just 1 per cent more of this 14 per cent rent, the funds could be directed into infrastructure and human capital development.
According to him, the existence agreements in the mining and petroleum sectors have failed to maximise revenue from Ghana’s gold, oil, and other minerals.
He called for urgent reforms in fiscal policies governing the extractive sector, adding that increased revenue from natural resources would reduce Ghana’s dependence on external financing.
