By Nick OPOKU Ghana is Africa's largest producer of gold and one of the world's largest. Gold plays a critical role in Ghana's economy; contributing nearly half of the country's exports in 2023, according to central bank data. Illegal small-scale mining (galamsey), however, continues to wreak havoc on the environment,...
In response to the reported US$1billion sale of Newmont’s Akyem gold mine to China’s Zijin Mining Group, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is calling for significant constitutional amendments to safeguard the nation’s natural resources. The IEA describes the deal as “flawed in several respects, inimical to Ghana’s interest and...
By Christabel DANSO ABEAM The Women in Law and Development in Africa  (WiLDAF), partnering with OXFAM Ghana, has held a roundtable meeting under the Power of voices for Partnership (PvP) Fair4All project to review gender responsive policies, legal and institutional frameworks in the mining, petroleum and cocoa sectors. The PvP Fair4all...
By Samuel Lartey (Prof.) [email protected] Ghana, once lauded as an African success story, has faced significant economic hurdles in recent years, from overburdened national debt to the volatile depreciation of the cedi, sky-high inflation, and the environmental destruction caused by illegal mining (Galamsey). As the country nears the 2024 General Elections, signs...
The United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator for Ghana, Mr. Charles Abani, has observed that addressing illegal mining or galamsey is crucial to establishing a sustainable economy. He further indicated that illegal mining has devastating impacts on people, poverty, jobs, child-labour, the environment and water, while also driving illicit financial flows. The...
By Rashidatu IBRAHIM  The West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP), implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and funded by the European Union (EU), has concluded in Ghana - benefitting 48,849 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The project continuously improved participants’ - including some 31,000 women-owned businesses - competitiveness...
By Isaac Yaw OBENG Agricultural exports contribute significantly to Ghana’s economy. According to the data, agri-food products worth US$3.4billion were exported from Ghana over the period 2022 and 2023 (Ghana Statistical Service, 2023. Ghana’s agricultural-related exports are led by Cocoa and Cocoa preparations ($1.090B), Edible fruits, nuts, peel of citrus fruit, melons (US$387.29M), and Animal, vegetable...
By Samuel SAM Vice Chancellor-University for Development Studies (UDS), Prof. Seidu Al-Hassan, has called for stricter policies to combat illegal mining - warning that the practice threatens food security and the nation's overall development. "The continued engagement in illegal mining, known as galamsey, along the country's water-bodies and forests threatens our...
Malaika Dela Bakar, the Senior Vice President of Energy & Infrastructure at Stanbic Bank Ghana, has emphasized the need for a stronger regulatory framework to boost local companies’ involvement in Ghana’s oil and gas industry. She made these remarks during the annual Local Content Conference and Exhibition (LCCE) held...
By Juliet Aguiar DUGBARTEY Egbert Faible Jnr, Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission (PC), has applauded GRO Oilfield Alliance, for training graduates to take up opportunities in the oil and gas industry. “On behalf of the commission, I’d like to extend our gratitude to GRO for establishing an academy to...