The spokesperson for the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Paa Kwesi Schandorf has said the government remains firm on its decision regarding the proposed sliding-scale mining royalties agreement, stressing that the country must secure greater value from its mineral resources.
The Legislative Instrument, Minerals and Mining Royalty Regulations, 2025 which matured into law on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, establishes a sliding-scale framework that allows royalty rates to be adjusted in response to fluctuations in international market prices, enabling the state to earn more during periods of high commodity prices.
Speaking on the issue in an interview on Accra-based JoyNews, Mr. Schandorf stated that the government believes the time has come for Ghana to maximise the benefits derived from its vast mineral endowment.
According to him, the position of government will not change despite the ongoing public debate surrounding the policy.
Mr. Schandorf explained that the policy direction reflects a broader effort by the government to ensure that the country derives fair economic returns from its natural resources.
“The stance of government under the circumstances remains unchanged and the consideration is that Government believes that as of now, we have come to a point in our national life where we have to get maximum benefit from our Mineral endowment. That is the point that we have come to,” he said.
The Lands Ministry maintained that the approach is intended to strengthen national revenue generation from the mining sector while ensuring that Ghana’s natural resources contribute more meaningfully to the country’s development.
Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has predicted the loss of about one million jobs following the government’s introduction of the Minerals and Mining Royalty Regulations, 2025.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee, Patrick Boamah said the new regulation could make Ghana’s mining sector unattractive to investors.
“If you introduce this sliding scale, yes, you may accrue some revenue but the net effect will be some job losses that I will be sharing with you in the report that I will be giving to you. About a million job losses,” he stated.
He added: “If you lose close to a million jobs because the investment required did not come in, you are not going to get the employee’s tax, tax from companies and what have you, job losses, you are not going to expand.”
The Okaikwei Central MP insisted that the new agreement will hurt the mining sector.
“…all it says is that when it happens like that, we are not being attractive to the investor that is required to come to the mining sector, so this is going to hurt the mining sector,” he noted.
