ACET DISSECTS MINING REVENUES

Major (rtd) Ablorh Quarcoo, Commissioner of Public Interest & Accountability Commission; Dr Kwabena Donkor and Dr Mark Asibey-Yeboah were part of the discussants.

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday, November 14, 2014

Key representatives of government, civil society organizations, mining communities, and industry gathered yesterday in Accra to discuss how mining revenues could be managed effectively in the country.

The dialogue, the first in a series of three Public-Private Dialogues on Mining Governance, supported by the Australian Government and the African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) was held in Accra.

Australia's High Commissioner to Ghana, Joanna Adamson, who officially opened the dialogue on Governance and the Management of Revenues from Mineral Exploitation, encouraged Ghana to continue to ensure compliance in the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).

"The extractives sector in Ghana can play a transformative role and contribute to the achievement of Ghana's development priorities. We hope that the dialogues we are organising with ACET will provoke robust debate, inform policy development and contribute to sustainable development in Ghana."

She said with substantial experience in both mining and development, Australia is well-placed to share its experience with African countries that intend to overcome the challenges and reap the benefits of a growing mining sector.

Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), took participants through public involvement in policy formulation and implementation and standards of accountability and disclosure.

Tony Aubyn, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Minerals Commission, said there was the need for the public to know how mineral revenues are utilized to overcome public suspicion.

Prof. Joe Amoako-Tuffour, Senior Advisor at ACET, who moderated the programme, said that Ghana's mineral resources offered significant and unparalleled opportunity for transforming the economy, adding that “it can be translated into sustainable, equitable development for the country.”

The second and third forums in the Public-Private Dialogues on Mining Governance series, scheduled to take place in 2015, are expected to focus on local content policies, governance of the artisanal and small-scale mining sector, as well as public-private partnerships to benefit mining communities.

The African Centre for Economic Transformation is an economic policy institute supporting Africa's long-term growth through transformation. 

ACET's mission is to promote policy and institutional reforms for sustained and economic growth throughout Africa so that African countries can drive their own growth and transformation agenda.