Government pledges unflinching support for EITI

Government will continue to support the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), to ensure regular flow of information on all material revenues received from the extractive sector.

In an address at the launch of 2010/2011 EITI Audit Report, Major Mahama Samuel Tara (Rtd), Chief Director Ministry of Finance, said the Audit information would be made available to a wide audience in a publicly accessible and comprehensive manner.

Major Tara said after 10 years of EITI implementation, civil society, companies and government are collaborating for a win-win solution to resource governance.

“Citizens and civil society groups are asking critical questions, becoming more constructively engaged, and in the process, strengthening the levers of democracy and development,” he said.

He said the recommendations from previous reports had informed a wide-range of policy reforms in the mining sector, leading to a review of mineral royalty payments from a range of three – six per cent to a fixed rate of five per cent.

Other areas of impact include the on-going upward review of ground rent, increase in the corporate tax rate from 25 per cent to 35 per cent and the replacement of the previous 100 per cent capital cost recovery with a uniform capital allowance regime of 20 per cent for five years.

Major Tara said government is working assiduously to ensure that the enhanced revenues are prudently managed and utilised for the benefit of the people.

He asked District Assemblies in the mining areas to demonstrate fiscal accountability and transparency in all revenue mobilisation and expenditure decisions particularly those relating to the use of mineral royalties.

Mr Franklin Ashaidey, National Co-ordinator of the EITI, said the Initiative is a governance tool that seeks to promote the principles of transparency and accountability in the payment and receipts of resources from the extractive sector.

The independent Aggregator, he said also has responsibility of ascertaining whether revenue received by government agencies such as the district assemblies, have been properly accounted for and judiciously utilised by the beneficiaries.

Source: GNA