Mining firms fail to pay dividend to Gov’t for 10yrs

Poor supervision by the Non-Tax Revenue Unit (NTRU) and the Public Investment Department (PID) of the Ministry of Finance has led to loss of revenue from mining companies over the past 10 years (2005-20014).

Only four out of a sampled 22 mining companies have paid dividend to the government over the period, the audited accounts of the Consolidated Fund for 2014, has revealed.

Those which paid are AngloGold Ashanti Company Limited, Aboso Goldfields Limited, Goldfieds Ghana Limited and Ghana Manganese Company Limited.

They paid a total of GHC43.168 million into the Consolidated Fund at 10 per cent carried interest.

The Auditor-General’s Report deplored the poor inflow of revenue from the mining companies and urged the ministry to strengthen its control on government of Ghana equity investment in mining companies by ensuring that “the dividend due government of Ghana are properly monitored and paid properly onto the consolidated fund”.

According to the report, the NTRU and the PID were required to monitor and ensure the effectiveness of collection and accounting of declared dividend that accrue to the government based on the 10 per cent carried interest.

“In view of this, I noted that revenue from mining companies in the form of dividend have been poor over the past ten years,” the report signed and presented to Parliament by the Auditor-General Richard Quartey has said.

It said under the Minerals and Mining Act 2006, Act 703, the government generates revenue from mining companies based on 10 per cent carried interest.

The report said during the examination of the records at the ministry, the NTRU had copies of annual returns from only four companies who paid dividend into the Consolidated Fund.

The companies that were found not to have any record of their payment of the carried interest, according to the report, were Nobel Mining Resources, Kinross Mining Resource Limited, Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, Ghana Cement West Africa Quarry, Xtra Mining and Adamus Resources Limited.

Others are Owere Mining Limited, Chirano Gold Mines limited, Golden Star (Wassa) Limited, Ghana Bauxite Company, Perseus Mining Limited, and Med Mining Limited and Blue River.

The rest are Banka Gold, Midras Mining and Prestea Sankofa Gold Limited and the Great Consolidated Diamond Limited.