The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has challenged the government to immediately review all contracts pertaining to Ghana’s natural resources to make the country gain the most from their exploitation.
The review, she said, should make the country earn a return of at least 60 per cent on its natural resources, worth over $10 trillion, to support the country’s economic transformation and curb its debt burden.
Justice Sophia Akuffo, a former Chief Justice and Fellow of the IEA, made the call at a press briefing in Accra on Monday, on: “Maximising the benefits from Ghana’s natural resources.”
She raised concerns over the exploitation of Ghana’s natural resources, for many years, under concession leases that ceded exclusive rights to foreign firms who kept disproportionally high shares of the products and paid “paltry” amounts in the form of royalties and taxes.
The natural resources include gold, diamonds, bauxite, iron ore, oil, natural gas, cocoa, and timber.