By Kodjo Adams, GNA
Accra, June 28, GNA- A study on the proposed Minerals Royalty Bill in Ghana has recommended the inclusion of landowners in the payment of the community-level portion of the mineral royalty.
The study said that would help minimise conflicts in mining areas by putting landowners in the forefront of facilitating the development of mines, as noted among chiefs.
The study was presented by Dr Abdulai Darimani, a consultant for the study, at a national convening on the proposed bill.
The report was commissioned by Livelihood and Environment Ghana, a nongovernmental organisation, in collaboration with 10 civil society organisations working on the extractive, with support from Star Ghana Foundation.
The report proposed a review of the formula by increasing the share that goes to community-level stakeholders.
It said the 20 per cent formula was developed in 1960 and had remained the same, saying 65 years or more is long enough to review the formula.
In Ghana, the revision of the mineral royalty has sharpened and widened public debates about the equitable and fair distribution of the mineral wealth.
The Minerals Commission reported how a traditional ruler from a mining-affected community lamented the unfair distribution of mineral royalty in Ghana at a public meeting.
The Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2015 (Act 900), removed the five per cent fixed royalty rate by mandating the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources to make regulations prescribing the applicable royalty rate.
The report proposed an increase of the 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the royalty for the disbursement.
It said the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands should have three per cent of the 15 per cent to ensure timely disbursement and monitoring for efficient utilisation of the monies.
The report suggested that the remaining 12 per cent should be converted to 100 per cent and be disbursed to the stool (15 per cent), traditional authority (10 per cent), landowners (five per cent), and District Assemblies (70 per cent).
The report also recommended timelines for the disbursement of the mineral royalty between institutions to curtail potential abuse of discretion and the delay in transmitting royalty from one institution to the other.
Mr Richard Adjei Poku, Executive Director of LEG, said the report explored the legal and institutional framework regulating royalty in Ghana.
The purpose of the report, he said, was to give an outline of the economic importance of mining and the role of mineral royalty in domestic revenue mobilisation.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter : Kodjo Adams [email protected]