New abirem: The Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), facilitated by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, recently conducted a workshop to disseminate its 2021/2022 reports on the mining, oil, and gas sectors. These reports include a first-time focus on the Artisanal Small-scale Mining (ASM) sector and offer detailed insights and recommendations for enhancing sector governance and development.
According to Ghana News Agency, the workshop was held in New Abirem, Birim North District, and saw participation from various stakeholders including media, government representatives, and civil society organizations. Dr. Steve Manteaw, Co-Chair of GHEITI, emphasized the role of the initiative in addressing policy challenges in Ghana’s extractive industries since joining the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2003.
The reports highlighted several key aspects of the sectors, including the need for better summarization of license tenure information in the oil
and gas industries to facilitate easier access and understanding. The total crude oil exports for 2022 were reported at over 67 million barrels, contributing significantly to the nation’s merchandise exports.
The ASM sector report pointed out the benefits of a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework but recommended strengthening and monitoring to address new challenges and improve contributions to national development. It also suggested enhancing ASM’s representation in policy-making and streamlining the licensing process to mitigate taxation concerns.
Eastern Regional Minister, Mr. Seth Kwame Acheampong, discussed measures to combat illicit financial flows in the extractive sector, including the establishment of a Beneficial Ownership disclosure regime and enhancements to the Companies Act to support these initiatives. These reforms have improved transparency and reduced corruption risks in the industry.