Ghana’s management of mineral revenues faces renewed scrutiny following amendments to the Mineral Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act, with the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) warning that the changes weaken the country’s long-term resource investment framework.
In its latest report, GHEITI said the 2025 amendments to the MIIF Act have reduced the share of mineral revenues managed by the Fund to just two percent, raising concerns about the erosion of MIIF’s original mandate as a sovereign wealth-style vehicle for long-term investment.
MIIF was established to receive and invest mineral royalties on behalf of the state, with the aim of supporting economic development while preserving value for future generations. However, GHEITI noted that increased ministerial discretion over mineral revenue utilisation risks shifting the Fund away from this objective.
The watchdog said the amendments were introduced without broad stakeholder consultation and failed to incorporate recommendations contained in its 2020 report, which had already highlighted weaknesses in the Act. These included the frequency of royalty transfers, the non-taxation of dividends, limited transparency provisions, and the absence of safeguards for intergenerational equity.
According to GHEITI, Ghana’s current mineral revenue framework falls short of international best practices for managing non-renewable resource income. Such frameworks typically balance three objectives: financing current development needs, saving and investing for future generations, and creating fiscal buffers to absorb commodity price volatility and resource depletion.
A key concern raised in the report is the lack of oversight mechanisms for the bulk of mineral revenues. GHEITI estimates that about 78 percent of mineral income is transferred directly to the Ministry of Finance’s account, with no clear framework to monitor spending efficiency or track project outcomes.
The report said the absence of guidelines governing the selection of qualifying projects, reporting on disbursements, and transparency on project implementation undermines accountability, despite earlier progress in tracking mineral revenue flows.
GHEITI recommended that withdrawals from the Mineral Income Holding Account be governed by clear rules similar to those applied to Ghana’s petroleum revenue management system. It also called for the establishment of reporting and transparency requirements to ensure mineral revenues are linked to measurable development outcomes.
In addition, the watchdog urged the government to convene a national dialogue on the MIIF Act and the broader mineral revenue management framework. Such a process, it said, would help build consensus around reforms that align mineral income management with fiscal sustainability, transparency, and long-term investment goals.
The findings come as Ghana continues to rely heavily on extractive revenues to support public spending, underscoring the importance of robust governance structures to ensure mineral wealth translates into lasting economic value.
