The Director General of the National Internal Audit Agency, Dr. Eric Oduro Osae says the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) is poised to become the best minerals sovereign fund in Africa after inaugurating the Fund’s Audit Committee at the MIIF Head Office in Accra. MIIF, which is said to be arguably the fastest growing minerals sovereign fund in the world was conceived by the Government in 2018 and passed into law by the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018, (Act 978).
The mandate of the fund is to receive mineral royalties on behalf of government, manage the equity interest of government in large scale mines and help manage budgetary exposures arising out of the volatilities in commodity prices on the international markets.
Dr. Oduro Osae, the Director General of the Internal Audit Agency, observed that the Fund by inaugurating its Audit Committee was now even better placed to work for the people of Ghana due to the legal architecture that governs the audit process of public sector companies. The Audit Committee function is derived from the Public Financial Management Act 2016, (PFM Act 921) which imposes a three-pronged responsibility on the Internal Committee.
Further to Section 86 (1) of the PFM Act, 2016, the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378), the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) as amended, the Guidelines for Effective Functioning of Audit Committees and other applicable financial laws, the audit committee is to perform a mandatory role, an advisory role and provide support to the internal management set-up to ensure greater value for the people of Ghana. The CEO of MIIF, Mr Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng added that, the inauguration of the Internal Audit Committee enhances corporate governance of the Fund which is essential to creating a world class sovereign wealth fund.
Dr. Oduro Osae spelt out the mandatory role to include the preparation of an annual report and an annual statement of implementation for the attention of the Minister for Finance, Office of the President, Auditor-General, and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament as well as the Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency. “The reason for all of the above is to ensure that public funds are spent judiciously and well, and the features of accountability and the management of risk are ever present in what MIIF does” said Dr. Eric Oduro Osae.
EXPERIENCED COMPOSITION
The newly inaugurated Audit Committee of MIIF comprises five executives with C-suite experience in public sector financial management. The Chairman of the Internal audit committee is John Fiam-Coblavie an auditor and chartered accountant with at least twenty years’ experience in the financial sector. Madam Christiana Sakyibea Dei, a member of the Committee has had a long career in the public sector including serving at the Ministry of Fisheries and on several Audit Committees. She is also a Chartered Accountant with at least 20 years of experience.
Other members are Mr. Hayford Amoh and Mrs. Felicia Ashley both of the Ministry of Finance and Mr. Emmanuel Nii Dowuona a nominee from the Internal Audit Agency, a private consultant on Audit matters and Mercedes Maud Naa Dei Ashie a chartered accountant with over 12 years’ experience in internal Audit as Head of internal Audit for the Minerals Income Investment.
MIIF’S GROWTH TRAJECTORY
MIIF’s growth trajectory has been fast-paced since 2019 when Assets Under Management (AUM) of the Fund was circa US$125Million. In 2024, subject to validation by an independent international audit firm, MIIF’s AUM will reach circa S$1.5billion by June 2024. Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng the Chief Executive Officer of MIIF said, “ one of our objectives is to benchmark the best sovereign funds in the world on all fronts including corporate governance principles. We are incorporating best practice for the most high-performing sovereign funds in the world towards our vision to create one of the leading sovereign wealth funds in the world.”
ABOUT MIIF
MIIF is Ghana’s sovereign minerals fund mandated by the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018, (Act 978) as amended, to maximize the value of dividends and royalties income accruing to the Republic of Ghana in a beneficial, accountable and sustainable manner and to monetize Ghana’s mineral wealth in a manner that will secure the future wealth of the country.
At present, MIIF receives royalties from at least ten minerals currently being mined in Ghana including gold, manganese, limestone, silver and sand winning. MIIF has equity stake in Asante Gold Corporation, a Canadian, Frankfurt and Ghana Stock Exchange listed gold mining company which owns the Chirano, Bibiani and Kubi mines.
The Fund is also the 4th largest shareholder globally in Atlantic Lithium an Australian Company which owns the Ewoyaa world class lithium finds and other tenements in Ghana. The Ewoyaa will go into mine development and production by the first quarter of 2025. MIIF has closed a USD$ 30 million for the development of the Ada Songhor Salt which will eventually make it the largest in sub-saharan Africa.
In line with the Government of Ghana’s local content policy, MIIF has invested GHS25 Million into a Private Equity Fund which will lend to the mining micro sector. MIIF intends to introduce a gold backed ETF on the Ghana Stock Exchange before year end 2024 as part of its plans to help develop the capital markets and make mining a viable alternative asset class for investors.
