The primary objective of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is to maintain stability in the general level of prices, as stated under Section 3 of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002, (Act 612), as amende
In addition to price stability, the central bank is enjoined to support the general economic policy of government, promote economic growth and development, and ensure effective and efficient operation of the banking and credit system; and contribute to the promotion and maintenance of financial stability.
From the above-referenced Act of the BoG, nowhere is it stated categorically that the BoG has a role in indigenising Ghana’s mining sector.
However, as the government of Ghana seeks to indigenise the mining sector as a way of ensuring that the returns remain in the country by ensuring locally-owned mining firms play a key role in the sector, this article analyses the role that the Bank of Ghana must play in ensuring the success of the localisation of the mines.
To start with the analysis, it has to be stated that the Damang Mine, formerly operated by Gold Fields Ghana Limited, for instance, has been officially handed over to Engineers and Planners Limited, a locally owned company, following the company’s successful bid for the concession.
The handover ceremony took place at the mine site on Saturday, April 18, 2026, where the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, performed the transfer.
Speaking after the ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of Engineers and Planners, Ibrahim Mahama, highlighted his three-decade association with the Damang Mine and pledged major investments to benefit surrounding communities.
“I would say that, look, if we all put our minds together, this is a success story. And the plan I have for Damang Mine is not a joke. I just want to prove that we can invest in ourselves in this country,” he said.
When it comes to technical capacity, it appears Ghana has it in abundance because within the West Africa subregion and even across Africa, Ghanaian specialists are all over. We have more Ghanaian mining specialists working in Guinea, Mali, Senegal, and Tanzania.
So, the country has well-qualified, top-notch mining engineers, but the point ought to be made that it doesn’t take technical capacity alone to develop a mine.
It takes strong financial muscle to play a major role in the high-capital-intensive sector. The truth is that, Ghanaian-owned companies have not been able to build the required capital to enable them to develop the mines.
There is Adamus Resources that is a Ghanaian mine. Investments have also been made through the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) in Asante Gold and Ghana Bauxite, but the question is, how are they doing?
So, indeed, Ghanaians own mines, but there is a high need for a strategy to build their financial muscle to operate at the highest level.
This is the point at which the Bank of Ghana must come in. How so? Businesses require cheap credit to expand and carry out their operations. They go to the banks to borrow to finance their operations, but when the lending rate is high, it creates difficulty for the businesses.
So, the key role the BoG must play is to work assiduously to ensure a lower lending rate.
Generally, improvement in the macroeconomy trickles down also into these businesses as well; a number of the banks, be it multinational or local banks, will all advance credits to a number of the mine support services companies in an improved economy.
It is in this regard that the recent pronouncement of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Asiama, that the BoG was working to ensure that businesses access cheaper funding, was welcome news.
He made the point that the war in the Middle East was having an impact on the domestic economy; however, there was high confidence that when the war ends, Ghana would return to the trend of cheaper borrowing rates for businesses.
“Lower interest rates are good for everyone; private sector people can borrow at lower rates. We are still committed to that; we want to see businesses access cheaper funding because then they can expand and create jobs, but it is a process. Running an economy, you are faced with global shocks, domestic shocks, exogenous shocks. When those shocks come your way, you need to adjust to them, and so we believe that by the time these shocks we are facing now edge out, we will see a return to that lower interest trend we are seeing from last year,” he said at the 131st MPC press conference.
To stress the point, when the macro economy is doing well, with lending rates dropping, businesses, including mining firms, will be able to borrow at a lower rate to expand their operations and to also employ more.
The central bank must also engage with the Ghana Chamber of Mines on how to support these local mining firms to thrive.
At the chamber level, what you will typically get most companies doing is, for instance, if Newmont or Goldfields have a stronger balance sheet, and if it is Kofi Ansah & Sons that has won a contract to provide services for Newmont or Goldfields, they can borrow on the strength of Newmont or of Goldfields, and it is cheaper and less risky for them.
That makes it a bit easier for them to be able to access capital when they are borrowing on the balance sheets of these two companies.
Although the chamber already works with the Ghana Association of Banks to create a fund where a select few of the banks and some of their suppliers and vendors will go to, the point must be made that there is a need to increase the collaboration with the banks and the central bank in that respect.
Because the consortium of banks may have already done their due diligence on them, it reduces their risk profile in the credit scoring system, where the risk is lower, which translates a bit into lower interest rates, as they can go into a particular regime and then borrow on the basis of the due diligence that has been done by these commercial banks on these companies.
Another strategy that can be explored is the strategy that combines local technical expertise with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
That can be achieved through some joint venture arrangement to enable Ghanaian-owned companies to build the balance sheets to be able to raise money on the international market.
Alternatively, you may want to give them a Ghanaian Sovereign Guarantee to raise the money; if they fail, it becomes our debt, but if you don’t want to take that risk, then have a strategy and go the joint venture route. So, over time you build the balance sheet to be able to take over the mine and run it.
Laud Nartey is a Ghanaian journalist with a special interest in business reporting. He has over a decade of experience in journalism and economic reporting.
He can be reached on Facebook: Laud Nartey, X:@LaudNartey, LinkedIn: Laud Nartey; Instgram: Laud Nartey; email: nartey.laud@yahoo.com
