Chamber of Mines pushes for competitive environment to attract investments
The First Vice-President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Mr Eric Asubonteng, has called on the government to overhaul the fiscal regime that governs the mining sector.
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He said if the country wanted to remain competitive in the mining sector and attract the needed investments, then “we must admit that the fiscal regime governing the mining sector is a disincentive to businesses and investors”.
Mr Asubonteng made this call at the 89th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the chamber in Accra.
He said the government needed to put in place policies that would make the mining environment competitive enough to attract the needed investments.
He noted that the right policies from government could help overturn the fortunes of the country in the mining sector as against its recent decline in investment inflows.
According to him, recent policy developments in the sector had rendered the sector non-competitive as compared to other mining jurisdictions in the West Africa sub-region.
That, he said, had led to the relocation of the head offices of some mining companies from Ghana to Cote d’Ivoire in recent years.
“The country cannot continue to pay lip service to the position as the preferred mining destination in Africa because we might awaken one day to the realisation that we have fallen behind in the pecking order,” he warned.
Royalty payment
Mr Asubonteng also mentioned that it was time for the government to take a position on the issue of royalty payment as it had been addressed by the Minerals and Mining Amendment Act, 2014 (Act 900) which empowers the sector minister to determine the rates based on the sliding scale approach.
“The most effective way to grow investments in the sector is through attractive packages for exploration companies; therefore, the government being the lead promoter of the sector, we crave its indulgence to exempt exploration companies from the payment of Value Added Tax (VAT) on big ticket items such as drilling and laboratory services,” he said.
According to him, that would attract financiers and investors to inject more resources into finding viable mineral reserves to grow and sustain the sector.
Mining industry
For his part, the Chief Executive Officer of the chamber, Mr Sulemanu Koney, indicated that the mining industry lends itself to regulation by a plethora of the government agencies.
“Managing these complex and dynamic regulator company relationships is, therefore, not only critical to the continuous operations of our member companies but also in delivering value to all stakeholders,” he said.
“As a result, the chamber places premium on its engagements with the ???government functionaries whose mandate have a bearing on the that the chamber??? will deepen its relationships with the afore-mentioned institutions to enhance the role of the mining industry as an enabler of development,” he said.
Creating conducive fiscal space
Mr Koney also commended the government for its desire to create a conducive fiscal space to consolidate the country’s reputation as the hub of mining investments in Africa.
“We are equally grateful to the Bank of Ghana for its support to the businesses of the member companies of the chamber,” he said.
He noted that the chamber would strive to work closely with relevant government functionaries to internalise the opportunities presented by the change in economic management policies.
“We are upbeat about the prospects of the mining industry in 2017 as are most connoisseurs. This optimism is somewhat anchored in the new administration’s policy to facilitate the development of the vibrant and competitive private sector, as well as geopolitical and economic events,” he said.