Although Ghana remains Africa\u2019s largest gold producer, the Chamber of Mines has warned that the tax has discouraged new exploration activity, contributing to a slowdown in the development of fresh mining projects.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ghanaian Economist, George Antwi-Boasiako, told Channel Africa on Wednesday, that the measure forms part of a broader effort to maximise the country\u2019s mineral wealth. He noted that gold accounts for close to 60% of Ghana\u2019s export earnings, making the sector central to the country’s economic strategy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Antwi-Boasiako said the removal of the VAT would encourage more prospecting, the first and most risky stage of mining. \u201cProspecting is high risk. Some investors commit over $100 million just to assess whether the land holds viable gold deposits. Removing the tax is a strategy to attract more investors into the sector, and stakeholders are welcoming it,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He added that the policy forms part of a dual approach: increasing exploration while positioning Ghana to add more value to its gold. The Government is establishing a Gold Board and expanding refining and jewellery production, aiming to reduce the export of unprocessed gold.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAs investors discover more gold, the Government will buy through the Gold Board and then export through our trade system. So the country benefits twice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Questions remain, however, about how mining communities will benefit. Antwi-Boasiako acknowledged that despite more than a century of mining, many communities have not seen meaningful improvements in living conditions. He urged the Government to prioritise social and environmental protection.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe communities within the mining enclaves must not suffer. The proceeds must translate into better lives. I believe this Government\u2019s social orientation means this will form part of negotiations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Beyond gold, Ghana hopes that scrapping the VAT will also stimulate exploration for other minerals, broadening the country\u2019s mining prospects.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15697,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-15696","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Ghana\u2019s Government is preparing to abolish the 15% value-added tax (VAT) on mining exploration in a bid to revive investor interest in the country\u2019s gold sector and sharpen its competitiveness against regional rivals such as C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire and Guinea. ","published_date":null,"news_description":"Ghana\u2019s Government is preparing to abolish the 15% value-added tax (VAT) on mining exploration in a bid to revive investor interest in the country\u2019s gold sector and sharpen its competitiveness against regional rivals such as C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire and Guinea. ","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/15696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/15696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19823,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/15696\/revisions\/19823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=15696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}