The Ghana Chamber of Mines has refuted claims that some of its members pocketed US$14 million supposed to be paid to the government as dividends payments between 2013 and 2016.
An investigation by an anti-corruption institution, iWatch Africa, had revealed that some six mining companies operating in the country defaulted in paying dividends to the tune of US$14.15 million – a situation which iWatch said was facilitated by a lack of government’s representation on the boards of the six mining firms.
Although the Minerals and Mining Act 2006, Act 732 gives the government a ten percent carried interest in all mining companies in the country and a guaranteed representation on the boards of mining firms, iWatch said there were no government reps in the period under review.
The companies involved are; Chirano, Adamus, Gold fields Abosso, Persus mining. Others are Ghana Manganese and Ghana Bauxite. According to iWatch, the six firms also failed to obtain the needed prior approval from the Ministry of Finance to execute their decision of ploughing back their profits.
But speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday morning, Sulemanu Koney, CEO of Ghana Chamber of Mines, an industry lobbyist, stated that contrary to the report, the government indeed has representation on the boards of the six mining companies in question.
“Government has representations on these boards. When companies make profit, there are a couple of things which happen. One of them is to take a decision whether to pay dividends to shareholders – and government is a 10 percent shareholder, if the board, including the government rep, decides to pay dividends, then the government is entitled to its dividends.
If dividends are not paid, it means that the other 90 percent shareholders will also not get dividends. So that assumption that government was shortchanged cannot be true at all,” he said.
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