Our resources must benefit Ghanaians - Davis Opoku backs local control of mines

The Member of Parliament for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku, has thrown his support behind calls by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) for Ghanaians to take charge of the operational aspects of most mining concessions in the country.

According to him, empowering indigenous Ghanaian companies and individuals to manage mining operations would significantly contribute to the country’s economic growth and reduce dependence on foreign support.

Speaking in an interview with The 1957 News, and shared on X on May 13, 2026, Ansah Opoku stressed that Ghana’s natural resources should primarily benefit Ghanaians.

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“Our resources should be owned by Ghanaians. We should own them. If we are to develop, we must appreciate that we need the necessary resources to do so.

“Seventeen times in the last 40 years, we’ve gone to the IMF for help. Sometimes, you go there for about $2 billion, other times $500 million, yet the mines that belong to us and the natural resources God has bestowed on us can generate profits of about $540 million annually for some companies,” he said.

Ansah Opoku further observed that although several large-scale mining concessions are owned by foreign companies, much of the operational work is already being carried out by Ghanaians.

According to him, mining concessions should be given to Ghanaians with the technical and financial capacity to manage them, adding that it is high time Ghanaians stopped politicising important national discussions that could benefit the country as a whole.

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“Most of the big mining firms and concessions given to foreign companies are being operated by Ghanaians. If we can do that under a proper and streamlined framework, then Ghana should get to a stage where we entrust capable indigenous Ghanaians with these opportunities.

“I don’t have what it takes to operate a mine, and they give me a mining concession, it means I lack the capacity, and Ghanaians will rightly complain. But if we have people in this country who have the capacity to develop our mines, then let’s give it to them,” he added.

Watch the video below:

Our resources should be owned by Ghanaians — MP for Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku backs calls by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) not to renew Gold Fields’ mining lease. According to him, the operational aspects of most of the concessions given to foreign companies are… pic.twitter.com/Gq6zk5byNX

— The1957News (@The1957News) May 13, 2026