The Finance Minister, Mr Seth Terkper, has expressed concern about the lack of capacity of the revenue collecting agencies to monitor tax players in the extractive industry appropriately. At the launch of the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative reports (GHEITI) on the mining, oil and gas sector for 2012 and 2013 in Accra, Mr Terkper said, "Transfer pricing in the extractive sector is one major challenge that revenue institutions must overcome because of its negative effect on revenue collection."

GHANA earned $978.87 million equivalent to GH 03.0 billion from the export of oil from the jubilee field as of the end of 2014, Seth Terkper, Minister of Finance has disclosed. He said total volume of crude oil produced from the Jubilee field in 2014 was 37,201,691 barrels rep-resenting an increase of 42.6 per cent over 2011 production levels. In a speech read on his behalf at the launch of 2012/2013 Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) audit reports in Accra yesterday he said the average daily production rate in 2014 was 101,922 barrels per day.

Accra, February 10, 2015.

The National Multi-stakeholder Steering Committee of the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) has today formally launched the country’s 2012 and 2013 mining, oil and gas EITI audit reports, released on December 27, 2014. The two reports bring to ten, the total number published since Ghana acceded to the initiative in 2003. The 2013 report is the third for the oil and gas sector.

The reports, which are published in conformity with the EITI standard adopted by the Sydney Global EITI Conference in 2013, goes beyond the mere reconciliation of payments and receipts, to include contextual information such as summary description of the legal framework and fiscal regime, the sector’s contribution to the economy, production data; state participation in the extractive industries; revenue allocations and the sustainability of revenues, license registers and license allocations; as well as information on beneficial ownership and contracts.

African governments have relegated the implementation of the African Mining Vision (AMV) to the back burner after it was unanimously adopted in 2009 by African Heads of State. The ECOWAS Mineral Development Policy (EMDP), a related document, has also suffered a similar fate. The AMV, according to experts, is the most ambitious national, sub regional and continental mining reform framework that has been developed in Africa in recent years.

A SENIOR Mineral Sector Governance Advisor in charge of the African Mineral Development Centre of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Dr. Kojo Busia, has called for strong policy reform in Africa's extractive sector.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BACKGROUND

In 2003, Ghana signed onto the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). By this singular action Ghana joined the list of countries implementing EITI globally. As an EITI implementing country, Ghana is required to apply the principles of the initiative to its extractive sector(s).

It is a great pleasure for me to make this few opening remarks at this important workshop on the implementation of the Guidelines for the utilization of the Minerals Royalties that government sends back to districts and communities impacted by mining.

Newmont last year retained in Ghana almost 80% of its earnings from gold sales

Newmont Ghana has announced that almost 80% of its earnings from gold sales were retained in the country in 2012, contrary to some recent claims.

The earnings retained in Ghana were spent on corporate taxes, local contractors and vendors, wages and benefits and land access. The remaining 20% was spent on offshore debt payments, heavy equipment and other offshore purchase.

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has urged the Minerals Commission and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop the devastation of the nation's forests and water bodies through mining. He said the two bodies needed to step up their supervisory and monitoring roles to make sure that the right things were done and check the recklessness. He faulted the two institutions for not doing enough to properly supervise and monitor small-scale miners, particularly, those operating in the hinterlands.

The Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF) has earmarked GHS 2,5 8 0,2 4 8 toward the development of Gyedu, a mining community within the Ahafo Project of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited at Kenyasi in the Asutifi North District of Brong-Ahafo. The amount is meant for the provision of social facilities, infrastructure and other human resource development in the community with a population of more than 8,000 people, who are mainly farmers.