By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, Dec. 13, GNA – The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working on Extractives, Anti-Corruption, and Good Governance has recommended eight critical priorities for consideration by the President-Elect Mr John Mahama to provide a solid foundation for restoring fiscal stability.
This, when adhered to, will also foster inclusive governance, and achieve sustainable development.
The proposed areas include the termination of the Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) contract, abolish the Agyapa Royalties Deal and review the Mineral Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act, reform the energy sector, combat illegal mining, strengthen environmental governance, and enhance anti-corruption measures across all sectors.
The rest were to run a lean government, prioritise inclusive governance, and early identification and ringfencing of resources of key economic and social priorities.
This was contained in an open letter to the President-Elect signed by members of the Coalition namely, Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Natural Resource Governance Institute, Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, iWatch Africa, Revenue Mobilisation Africa, Third World Network-Africa, IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Centre for Extractives and Development, Institute of Energy Security, and Human Environment and Livelihoods Platform Foundation.
The open letter said the ongoing SML contract had diverted millions of Ghana Cedis into private hands without delivering commensurate value to the nation.
It said, “Terminating this agreement will seal a significant revenue leakage and restore public confidence in financial management practices.”
It recommended that the President-Elect permanently terminate the controversial Agyapa Royalties deal, which threatened the country’s mineral wealth and had faced widespread public rejection.
It said, “While President Akufo-Addo paused its implementation, the underlying MIIF Act requires amendments to introduce stringent transparency and accountability measures in mineral revenue investment.”
On the energy sector, the letter recommended limiting political interference in State-Owned Enterprises especially GNPC and Ghana Gas to promote leadership stability and operational efficiency.
It recommended addressing persistent challenges in the energy distribution value chain, which had eroded sector performance and profitability.
It recommended the repeal of the Environmental Protection (Mining in Forest Reserves) Regulation 2022 (L.I. 2462), enforcement of existing mining laws, investigating the allocation of mineral licenses in forest reserves and prosecution of politically exposed persons and traditional leaders complicit in illegal mining.
It also recommended improving transparency in procurement processes to prevent inflated contracts and insider dealings.
The letter also urged the President-Elect to fulfill his commitment to running a lean, efficient government that reduced waste and directed public resources toward productive sectors.
It congratulated the President-Elect on his decisive re-election saying, “Your victory reflects the trust the Ghanaian people have placed in your leadership and vision to reset the nation.”
GNA