Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin, an economist, has cautioned that Ghana currently lacks the capacity to effectively manage and benefit from full scale mineral resource nationalisation.
His remarks follow renewed calls by the Institute of Economic Affairs for the country to assert greater control over its mineral wealth, including reducing the dominance of multinational mining firms.
Prof Bokpin warned that while nationalisation may appear attractive, it risks overlooking critical structural weaknesses within the economy.
“We currently do not have the full capacity to manage the entire value chain, from extraction to refining, at the scale required,” he said.
He explained that any rushed attempt to nationalise the mining sector could expose deep inefficiencies, challenging the growing narrative that Ghana is ready to take full control of its natural resources.
Prof Bokpin pointed to significant gaps in technology, financing and skilled human resources as major constraints that must be addressed before any meaningful transition can occur.
He described the push for nationalisation as partly emotional, cautioning that past experiences in the extractive sector demonstrate that ambition alone cannot substitute for technical expertise and strong institutional systems.
“These are not simple issues. Wishing, hoping and wanting to control our resources is not enough. The real question is whether we have the capacity to do so effectively,” he said.
He cited Ghana’s long standing difficulties with gold refining as evidence of the country’s structural challenges, noting that several attempts over the past three decades to establish sustainable refining operations have failed.
“We have tried gold refining in this country several times, and it has not worked. That tells you the problem is deeper than ownership. It is about capability,” he added.
According to Prof Bokpin, Ghana’s mining sector has historically delivered strong contributions to gross domestic product but has produced limited outcomes in job creation, poverty reduction and inequality.
He noted that although gold has contributed more than 20 percent to GDP growth over the past two decades, broader economic transformation has lagged behind.
He further observed that the sharp rise in global gold prices in 2025 did not translate into proportional increases in government revenue, highlighting structural inefficiencies in how resource wealth is captured.
“This shows that simply owning the resource does not automatically translate into benefits,” he said.
Prof Bokpin also raised concerns about Ghana’s readiness to replace multinational mining companies that currently dominate the sector, warning that a premature exit of foreign investors could reduce output and lead to revenue losses.
“If we insist on certain nationalistic positions, we must be prepared to forgo foreign investment and accept potential losses in current mining revenue,” he cautioned.
He proposed a more gradual approach, where Ghana maintains foreign participation while renegotiating existing agreements and building local capacity over time.
“At the time many of these agreements were signed, Ghana was in a weaker negotiating position. That has changed, and we must review those contracts to reflect current realities,” he said.
Prof Bokpin also called for stronger support for local industrialists, arguing that Ghanaian entrepreneurs with the capacity to participate in large scale mining are often sidelined.
“We have people in this country who can take up significant roles across the value chain, but they are not always supported. Sometimes the political environment itself becomes a barrier,” he added.
He concluded that while the desire for greater control over mineral resources is understandable, Ghana must first build the necessary technical, financial and institutional capacity to ensure that such a transition delivers real economic benefits.
