Accra: The Government has laid proposed legislative reforms before Parliament to strengthen local content and participation in Ghana's mining sector. The move aims at increasing opportunities for Ghanaian businesses and retaining more value from mining activities within the domestic economy.
According to Ghana News Agency, Alhaji Yusif Sulemana, the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, announced these reforms at the National Mining Dialogue 2026 in Accra on Tuesday. The reforms are part of efforts to reinforce the policy and legislative framework governing Ghanaian participation in the mining value chain. The Minerals Commission has already developed a Mining Local Content and Local Procurement Policy Framework to prioritize Ghanaian participation and provide a more structured basis for local businesses to benefit from mining activities.
Alhaji Sulemana highlighted that the objective of local content extends beyond the number of Ghanaians employed by mining companies. It also includes opportunities for Ghanaian businesses to supply goods and services, acquire technical skills, and compete for major contracts. Stakeholders must assess the extent to which mining companies are transferring technology and knowledge to Ghanaians and how much of the value generated by the sector remains in the country.
The reforms are part of broader government efforts to overhaul Ghana's mining regulatory framework. In July 2026, the Cabinet approved a new mining legal framework aimed at strengthening mineral licensing, local participation, and community benefits. Alhaji Sulemana emphasized the importance of building the capacity of Ghanaian businesses to make local procurement a strategic tool for national development.
He also called for deliberate investment in skills development, noting that mining communities cannot demand employment from mining companies without preparing their people with the requisite knowledge and technical capabilities. The Deputy Minister urged communities in mining areas to pursue education and skills development aligned with the mining industry to enable their people to take advantage of employment and business opportunities created by those operations.
Alhaji Sulemana further encouraged mining companies to transfer skills and technology to Ghanaians and enable young people in mining communities to view the sector as a pathway to employment, entrepreneurship, and business development. The Government will continue to engage stakeholders on reforms aimed at ensuring that mining generates broader economic benefits for Ghana.
The National Mining Dialogue brought together government officials, traditional authorities, regulators, mining companies, small-scale miners, gold buyers, and other stakeholders to deliberate on local content, corporate social responsibility, and the social licence to operate. Participants were urged to translate their recommendations into concrete proposals for consideration by the Ministry, with a warning against generating good ideas that are not implemented.