Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, says the industry is proposing a dedicated development fund to support communities where mining activities take place.
According to him, the proposal forms part of discussions with government on the ongoing review of Ghana’s mining royalty regime.
Speaking on Good Afternoon Ghana on Metro TV on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, Ashigbey said the chamber believes a portion of mining profits should be set aside specifically for projects in host communities.
He explained that under the proposal, companies would pay 4 to 8 percent royalties on gross revenue, while an additional 1 percent from net profits would go into a special fund for community development.
“We should still put 1 percent that we take out of the net profit into a fund and that should be used for community development,” he said.
The proposal comes amid longstanding concerns that many communities hosting large mining operations have not seen enough development despite the sector’s contributions to the national economy.
Ashigbey said mining companies already contribute significantly through taxes, royalties and corporate social investments.
“Last year, 2024, the mining sector, the members of the chamber, spent $24 million in corporate social investment alone,” he said.
He added that the sector also paid GH¢17.7 billion in taxes, including royalties, to the state.
However, he explained that because Ghana operates a unitary system of government, most of the revenue paid by mining companies goes into the consolidated fund and is spent across the country.
“The thing about it is we are not a federal country. Every money that is paid goes into the consolidated fund,” he said.
He acknowledged that this situation sometimes leads to frustration in mining communities that expect more visible development from the resources extracted in their areas.
“Rightly so, some of our communities would complain,” he said.
Ashigbey said the proposed fund would ensure that communities directly benefit from periods when gold prices are high.
“So that the people in the communities where this mining is taking place can then point to that and say when the price of gold went to this point, this is what we were able to get,” he explained.
Beyond community projects, the Chamber of Mines is also pushing for stronger local content policies to ensure that more mining inputs are produced within Ghana.
According to him, the mining sector spends millions of dollars annually on materials and services that could potentially be produced locally.
For instance, he noted that the industry uses about $40 million worth of activated carbon every year, which could be manufactured in Ghana using coconut shells and other local raw materials.
“How do we integrate backwards in such a way that some of these lands that have been destroyed, we are able to use them to plant the coconuts that would give us activated carbon,” he said.
Ashigbey said such initiatives would create additional value for the economy while expanding job opportunities in mining communities.
“It’s not just refining your gold into bullion, but what do we do in terms of value addition,” he added.
