Oh No! Not Again!!

First it was Cargo and M Traboulsi, then it moved on Timber, now it is gold - Ghana's gold. It seems the "commanding heights" [apologies to Kutu] of our economy are systematically and deliberately being taken away from Ghanaians and handed over to Syrians and Lebanese.

In a report captioned "Rawlings and Lebanese in Gold Deal", the Chief Reporter of the Statesman reports how small scale gold buying and selling has been virtually over on a silver platter to Miramex, a company owned by a Lebanese.

Already in existence is the Precious Minerals Marketing Corporation which is the accredited state owned agency for the purchase and export of gold and diamonds. The PMMC however is overwhelmed and unable to cover the whole country in its operations leaving many gaps in the gold exporting business. This, according to mining sources, has left room for smuggling especially to Togo.

The tide had to be stemmed so experts recommended the establishment of buying and selling agencies along the lines of the Forex Bureaux. This way they could be monitored and the state would maximise earnings in that sector. The giants like AGC have so many checks and balances and under the scrutiny of several regulatory agencies. However, according to sources, at the insistence of President Rawlings, Miramex has been given the right to buy and sell gold just like the PMMC but with concessions which not even the AGC nor the PMMC enjoys. For example they asked for, and got, foreign exchange status which means they are able to operate in foreign currency out of the purview of the bank of Ghana. Even AGC, the giant of mining in Africa repatriates 40% of its foreign exchange through the Bank of Ghana.

As the monopoly tightens and the Rawlings connection gets firmer, Miramex is now calling the shots and even ministers of state is believed are at the beck and call of the Lebanese. After receiving its licence from the PMMC, Miramex decided that they did not like the conditions attached to it and with prompting from the Castle, Mr Kwame Peprah, Minister of Mines hurriedly instructed that a new licence be issued with conditions acceptable to the Lebanese gentleman. Several trips by the Statesman to the PMMC and the Ministry of Mines drew blanks.

However, The Statesman has learnt from other sources that what was clothes as a six month pilot project is now over a year old and the World Bank office in Accra is getting concerned. the World Bank has been providing assistance to the people of Ghana to deal with environmental problems associated with small scale mining. A and reclamation fund was therefore, established which was fed by a 3% levy on earnings from that sector. Now this levy has been basically suspended to satisfy the whims of Miramex. Taking a cue from this, the PMMC has also stopped payment and the Ministry of Mines and energy is unable to institute remedial measures.

The issue at stake according to people I n the business is that many other people, including several Ghanaians as well as foreigners have applied for licences to operate as buyers and exporters of gold from the small scale miners. They have either been turned down or ignored but because of President Rawlings' personal intervention, Miramex has been given a head start and is enjoying undreamt of privileges. Miramex itself is represented by Law Trust, an Accra Law Firm with strong NDC connections.

Maybe, we must ask this question again: who controls the commanding heights of our economy?