Minister promises transparency in mining contracts

Finance Minister, Seth Terkper on Tuesday stressed the need to build technical capacities to negotiate mining contracts for the benefit of Ghanaians.

Mr Terkper who was presenting the 2013 budget in parliament, said since 2000, commodity prices had risen about 75 per cent in real terms, which put the mining industry as one of the largest contributors to the country’s foreign exchange earnings.

He indicated that there were information irregularities in the negotiation of mining contracts, which tended to profit foreign entities that invest in the mining sector of the economy.

That, he said, presents a unique opportunity for government to mobilize internally generated wealth from the natural resources, especially in the mining sector, for sustainable development.

“Government will therefore, invest more in building technical capacities in order to negotiate mining contracts that will be beneficial to the well-being of our people. The on-going negotiations on existing Stability Agreements will be expedited to set new standards for the sector,” he added.