By Hafsa Obeng
Accra, Aug. 30 GNA – The Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) with support from Ford Foundation has launched the maiden Mining Districts Development Scorecard (MDDS) Project in Accra.
The scorecard is aimed at strengthening transparency and accountability in the use of mineral revenues to promote socio-economic development in mining districts in Ghana.
Madam Clara Kasser-Tee Esq., Vice Board Chair, CDD-Ghana, said the MDDS was an innovative and robust tool designed to assess the levels of transparency, accountability and citizen participation in managing mineral resources in Ghana.
She said it provided stakeholders with evidence of how districts were performing in the governance, management and utilisation of mineral resources.
The MDDS, she said, aimed to improve the socio-economic development outcomes in mining districts, saying although revenues from extracting mineral resources significantly contributed to government revenue, it did not lead to inclusive socio-economic development outcomes, particularly in rural communities where mining activities were done.
She said the MDDS would track the transfer, management and utilisation of mineral resource royalties in mineral resource-rich districts.
“Although by law all mineral resources belong to the people of Ghana and not the communities in which they are found, we must also acknowledge that in the specific case of extractive mineral resources, the communities in which they are found face unique social, economic and ecological challenges.”
She urged stakeholders to consider thoroughly the recommendations in the MDDS policy brief with a view to taking the necessary steps towards implementation.
Mr Mohammed Awal, Research Manager, CDD-Ghana, said the MMDS initiative was a social accountability tool that assessed and ranked transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in managing mineral royalties in Ghana’s mineral resource-rich districts.
It was to make information about transparency and accountability practices freely available, support evidence-informed dialogue and incentivize transparency and citizen engagement to strengthen accountability at national and sub-national levels.
He said the tool evaluated district-level governance in managing mineral royalties using five dimensions of fiscal transparency, local government effectiveness, local management committee effectiveness, citizens participation and engagement and mineral development fund utilisation efficiency.
Mr Awal said the MDDS tool was piloted in eight mineral resource-rich districts of the Asutifi North, Bibiani Awhiasooo Bekwai, Birim North, Prestea Huni-Valley, Tarkwa Nsueam, Obuasi, Upper Denkyira West and Wassa East Districts.
“The Birim North District topped the league table with 42.4 out of 100 points, followed by Tarkwa Nsuaem with 41.9 points, and Wassa East with 41 points. The three lowest ranked are Obuasi with 35.4 points, Asutifi North with 34.2 points, and Prestea Huni-Valley, with 33.1 points.”
“The report recommended the need to increase the allocation and ensure regularity in the disbursement of ceded mineral royalties to Assemblies, strengthen transparency by regularly publicising information about the allocation and utilisation of mineral royalties both owed and received by District Assemblies (DAs) and Local Management Committees (LMC).”
Mr Awal said there was an urgent need to develop a mineral revenue management Act for the mining sector, strengthen social accountability practices in mineral revenue management at the local level, rethink the composition and strengthen the relationships between the LMCs and DAs.
Dr Edem Selormey, Director of Research and Knowledge Management, CDD-Ghana, said the overall performance across districts indicated that much work still needed to be done.
He said the average score of 38.4 out of 100 points reflected significant challenges in governance practices at the local level.
The findings also underscored the need to address the disconnect between resource wealth and local development outcomes to achieve sustainable growth and development.
She called on stakeholders to use the findings to drive meaningful conversations and meaningful change as it provided a roadmap for enhancing governance practices, ensuring that revenue from mineral resources was managed effectively and transparently, and ultimately benefiting communities and those most affected by mining activities.
GNA