The Minority in Parliament has cautioned the government that its recent decisions in the mining sector could stifle growth, drive away foreign investment, and lead to increased job losses.
In a letter dated April 21, 2025, addressed to the Ministers for Finance and Lands and Natural Resources, the minority described a series of recent policies as “potentially dire” for the country’s economic stability.
Signed by the Ranking Member on the Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Ranking on the Lands and Natural Resources Committee, Kwaku Ampratwum Sarpong, and Ranking on the Finance Committee, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, the letter criticized two new tax measures imposed on the industry, a 3% Growth and Sustainability Levy on gross mining volumes introduced this year and an additional levy scheduled for 2026 to 2028.
The Minority warned that these levies are placing distressed mines under greater financial pressure and discouraging new investment.
“These royalty-like levies are putting several mines already in distress into graver financial difficulties,” the letter stated. The MPs also noted that companies mining other minerals, which have not experienced price surges, are unfairly burdened by the new taxes.
Equally worrying, according to the Minority MPs, is the recently passed GOLDBOD Act, which bans foreign entities from gold trading and export. The Minority argues that this move not only sends a negative signal to the global investor community but also violates the 1992 Constitution by retroactively affecting existing rights.
The group further condemned the government’s refusal to renew Goldfields Ghana Limited’s mining lease. According to the Minority, this rejection undermines investor confidence and discourages long-term commitments to the country. They argue that Ghana could have used the renewal process to renegotiate better terms rather than push an established operator out.
