Government has announced that in the next few months, an indigenous framework of managing natural resources in the country will be developed.
This comes after the exit of Goldfields in the Damang mines. After a 30-year lease expired, government is unwilling to renew a further lease.
However, an agreement has been reached for both government and Goldfields to manage the mines for onward transfer in a year subject to parliamentary ratification.
Speaking at a ministerial retreat, Thursday, April 24, 2025 President Mahama underscored the need for indigenous participation in the managing of the country’s natural resource.
The President said such interventions are necessary in order to raise resources to develop mining communities and areas.
“We had a little issue which we had resolved with one of our mining companies which lease have expired after 30 years and it was our desire to take it over and use Ghanaian expertise to be able to also explore that resource and let the benefit remain in our country.
“Happily, we reached an amicable solution to work together to transition that mine to a Ghanaian ownership. But it leads me to what my thoughts are that we must have an indigenization program for taking control of some of our natural resources.
“And so in the next few months, we will develop a policy on indigenous participation in our natural resource exploitation and we are not going to excoriate anybody’s concession but anytime a lease comes up for renewal, we would want to negotiate to ensure that there’s more indigenous Ghanaian participation in these things so that we can also raise the resources to bring prosperity to our people,” the President said.
