Ghana urged to maintain fiscal stability to drive investment
Mr Joshua Mortoti, Acting Executive Vice President, Gold Fields West Africa, has called for stability in the country’s fiscal regime to drive investments in the mining sector.
He said stable fiscal regime was a major consideration for investors, adding that lack of stability could discourage potential investors.
“As a country that is looking for investment, it behoves on us to ensure that our fiscal regime is clear and is stable for investment decisions to be made,” Mr Mortoti told journalists at a media engagement in Accra on Wednesday, January 26, 2022.
Outlining Gold Field’s contribution to national development, he said the Company paid $320 million in taxes to Ghana in 2021.
The Tarkwa and Damang Mines, in 2021, paid $244 million in Corporate taxes and Royalties, $48.2 million Dividend to the Government while Pay-as-you- earn (PAYE) contributions stood at $28 million.
He said Gold Fields currently had a total workforce of 7, 132 in Ghana, comprising 1,108 employees, and 6,029 contractors.
The Company would prioritise the recruitment of women and encourage women to take up core mining roles to increase the percentage of women employees from 11 per cent to 12 per cent this year.
Since 2004, Gold Fields had invested $84 million in socio-economic development of host communities, he said.
“We constructed the 33km Tarkwa-Damang road, Awudua road, UMaT-Nana Angu II road, bridges, upgraded the Huni-Valley Health Centre among other projects. Over 2,000 scholarships have also been given,” Mr Mortoti said.
He said the Company had ceded part of its concession in support of “responsible” small-scale mining, adding that Gold Fields was ready to support the development of framework to support that sector.
Mr Chris Griffith, Chief Executive Officer, Gold Fields, said mining companies were concerned about the increasing pressure from governments with respect to increase in taxes.
He said as much as governments would want to shore up revenue, the mining sector should not be burdened with taxes as that could affect investment in the industry.
“This is the time you have to be careful and try to encourage companies to continue investing and if you increase taxes to the point where companies can’t re-invest and continue making this long-term sustainability, then you stand the chance of killing the goose that lays the golden egg,” he said.
Gold Fields has targeted that by 2030, 30 per cent of its total value would stay with host communities as well as achieve 55 per cent host community employment.
Gold Fields is a globally diversified producer of gold with 10 operating mines and projects in Australia, Ghana, Peru, Chile and South Africa.
The Tarkwa, Damang, and Asanko mines in West Africa constitute 35 per cent of the Company’s total Group production.
The Company has been operating in Ghana for 29 years, with the Tarkwa Mine as its flagship mine and the single largest gold producer in Ghana.
Source: GNA