President John Dramani Mahama has revealed that Ghana is taking decisive steps to assert its natural resource sovereignty and ensure that the country benefits more from its mineral wealth.
Speaking during an engagement with Ghanaians living in Zambia, as part of three-day state visit, President Mahama said Ghana can no longer rely solely on foreign aid, noting that humanitarian assistance from the developed world is declining as they prioritize their own citizens and defense spending.
“We cannot continue to depend on aid. We must take care of our people, our gold, manganese, bauxite, and other resources must benefit Ghana and not be taken almost for free“ he stated
Mr. Mahama highlighted the success of the new Gold Board, established to regulate the small-scale mining sector. Under the previous system, 63 tons of gold were produced annually, but only 40 tons’ worth of foreign exchange returned to Ghana. “The forex for 23 tons never came back,” he noted.
He said since the Gold Board’s establishment, small-scale gold production jumped from 63 tons to 104 tons in just 10 months, with 100% of the foreign exchange for all exports returning to the Bank of Ghana.
“In 10 months alone, $10 billion has come into the Bank of Ghana from small-scale gold exports,” Mahama said, adding that this has stabilized foreign exchange availability in the country.
He also stressed the importance of value addition in other mineral sectors. “We are giving targets. We will stop raw manganese exports. Companies must set up plants to process the ore and produce finished products. Bauxite is the same. Raw bauxite export is already banned, but we are pushing further to ensure it is refined and turned into aluminium products before export,” Mahama explained.
Mahama described Ghana’s mineral reforms as a way to take advantage of global market instability. “When the world is unpredictable, people hedge in gold. Gold prices recently hit $5,500 amid trade tensions. That creates opportunities for Ghana,” he said.
Through these measures, Mahama emphasized, Ghana is reclaiming control over its resources and using them to strengthen its economy and safeguard the future of its people.
