Government asked to create special fund for mining communities
According to Dr Aubynn, communities in the country where mining took place were given a raw deal because their level of development did not reflect the activities that took place there, for which reason there was the urgent need for the government to consider establishing a fund that would take care of the developmental needs of the people.
On the general mining situation in Ghana, he stated that for the government to be relieved of the financial burden of having to raise taxes for development , there should be a private-public-partnership between the government and the private sector for the development of infrastructure without necessarily increasing the tax levels to fund such projects.
He said rather than the government imposing more taxes on the citizenry to fund certain projects the private sector could take up that responsibility which ultimately would woo more investors into the country.
For him arbitrary increment of taxes was a disincentive to investors which long term consequences could be dire for Ghana’s economic forward match.
He cited Australia as one example of a country whose economic success largely was a result of their non-tax benefits.
“Ghana and industry must continue to dialogue and align their interest because the situation of having to impose taxes all the time to raise revenue for development has a long term effect,” he observed.
Turning the spotlight on local content and its associated benefits to the mining industry, Dr Aubynn indicated that the government should make it possible for local companies to be provided support to produce materials locally.
“We should look at more creative ways of obtaining more benefits from the industry by way of job creation and so on,” he said.
He said currently about 15 per cent of mining expenditure was expended locally, which was not enough to bolster the sector.
Dr Aubynn underlined the need for a dispassionate approach to discussing mining issues in the country which, he noted, would result in a win-win situation for all.
To curb the activities of small scale mining (galamsey), he said the laws governing the activity could be reviewed and if necessary, provide a funding mechanism for people who want to go into galamsey operations since the banks were not willing to give financial support to persons who wanted to venture into such areas.
Story by Sebastian Syme
