Two former Chief Executive Officers of the Minerals Commission have warned that successive governments will continue to lose revenue from the mining sector if the appointment of directors to boards of mining companies continues to be politicized.
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in May last year strongly indicated that government will not accept the instances where mining companies declare no profit yet engage in active production to avoid paying dividend to government.
“Ghana as in many countries in the mining sector for example has a carried interest of about 10 percent. Out of this carried interest the expectation is that Ghana would receive dividend for this carried interest in our mines. When we look at the data however, we see a matrix of zeros as far as the dividends that Ghana earns from this carried interest from 2012 is concerned,” he said
An investigation by iWatch Africa, some months after Dr. Bawumia’s statement indicates that the failure of some six mining companies to pay dividends to the government of Ghana, led to the loss of a potential revenue of about $14.2 million as at October 2018.
While describing the amounts lost as unfortunate the President of the Africa Institute of Extractives Industry and the former CEO of the Ghana Minerals Commission, Dr. Toni Aubynn urged government to hold mining companies accountable at the board level by appointing competent government representatives
“We need to move away from politicizing everything. If we want to appoint a political person unto a board such persons must be good enough to be there. The question is not just having board representatives, it’s about having vigilant board representatives who will work in the interest of the country.”
On his part another former CEO of the Ghana Minerals Commission and advisor to on mining to the Minister of Lands and Natural resources, Benjamin Nii Ayi Aryee stated that without active monitoring by experienced government representatives investors and mining companies will find ways of ensuring that they earn more.
“The question is who are the people we put on boards ? Do they have the capacity and do they understand their roles ? If they don’t understand their role they’ll just go and sit there and be paid an allowance and go home. If they don’t have the capacity they will not be able to understand what is discussed. And so when they have to influence decisions they are not able to because they don’t have the capacity, and that could influence what gets to be paid to the government ultimately.”
2019 Mining Investment West Africa Conference
The Mining Investment West Africa 2019, is expected to take place from 28 to 29 May 2019.
The Conference will take place at Swiss Spirit Hotel & Suites Alisa in Accra, Ghana and will cover the topics of Mining, Finance, Construction Materials, Mining Investment and Quarrying and more.
The Mining Investment Africa Conference and Exhibition which is organized annually, is expected to bring 1000 industry and academia leaders and professionals across the world together in Accra, Ghana.
