Parliament House, Accra – The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has called on Ghanaians to join in the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as Galamsey, for a collective win.
Speaking with the media ahead of the 2025 budget presentation, the Minister stated that the illegal mining menace, Galamsey, is a fight that all Ghanaians must win together. He added categorically that as a country, we can engage in mining without destroying water bodies, degrading our lands, and harming the environment.
Hon. Armah-Kofi Buah also expressed his excitement about the budget and said he is confident that the Mahama-led government is ready to take Ghanaians on a path of prosperity. “We will see a future of hope and prosperity with this government.”
He added that the key focus of this government will be to ensure the mobilization of more revenue and cut down on gross expenditure and “live within our means.”
Presenting the 2025 Budget on the floor of Parliament, Dr. Ato Forson, the Minister for Finance, said the government will abolish the 1.5% Withholding Tax on the mining of unprocessed gold by small-scale miners. He mentioned that the removal of this and other ‘nuisance taxes’ will ease the burden on households and improve their disposable incomes. In addition, it will support business growth and improve tax compliance.
The Finance Minister also mentioned that the government will be seeking a review of a number of Acts – including the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act, 2018 (Act 978), among others – to support the policies of the government aimed at stabilizing the economy and promoting inclusive growth.
Again, he noted that the measures to stabilize the exchange rate include the establishment of the Gold Board to enhance the generation and accumulation of forex to support the stability of the cedi.
On the extractive sector, Dr. Ato Forson indicated that Ghana has not sufficiently capitalized on the benefits of its extractive sector to generate revenue and support development as well as diversification.
The Finance Minister said, whereas global gold prices have seen some significant increases in recent times, Ghana has leveraged this to its advantage
He further noted that the Natural Resource Rent, which is the difference between the revenue of a commodity and the average cost of producing it, is pegged at 14% of GDP for Ghana. However, according to him, revenue generated from the extractive industry is a mere 1.5% of GDP only because we fail to fully capture the economic rent of our natural resources.
He said, consequently, the government is proposing to increase the Growth & Sustainability Levy from 1% on the gross production of mining companies to 3% to enable the nation to have its fair share of the windfall from the increase in gold prices. “We also propose to extend the sunset clause to 2028,” he added.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson asserted that the government will provide a cedi equivalent of US$279 million as a revolving fund for the Ghana Gold Board (GOLDBOD) to enable purchases and exports of at least 3 tonnes of gold per week from small-scale miners.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/PR UPDATES
