Former Power Minister Dr. Kwabena Donkor is deepening his advocacy for Ghana to rethink its approach to managing and owning its natural resources by drawing lessons from Saudi Arabia’s model.
Dr. Donkor has reemphasized that the state must retain strategic ownership while leveraging private sector expertise to develop the resources
He believes Ghana’s current resource extraction model, which largely depends on exporting raw commodities, has delivered limited transformation despite decades of mineral and petroleum production. He argues that the country must move beyond simply attracting foreign investors to extract resources and instead place the Ghanaian state at the centre of ownership and value creation.
Speaking in an interview with veteran journalist Kwesi Pratt Jnr., Dr. Donkor said Saudi Arabia’s management of its petroleum resources through Saudi Aramco provides important lessons for Ghana. Under that model, foreign oil companies such as ExxonMobil and ENI provide technical services through agreements, but ownership of the resource remains with the Saudi state.
“Saudi Aramco owns the oil. They bring in the ExxonMobils and ENIs, but they work for them through service agreements,” he explained, adding that Ghana could adopt a similar approach where the state retains ownership while engaging capable partners where necessary.
Move from Extraction to Ownership
Dr. Donkor said Ghana’s dependence on exporting raw resources mirrors the situation nearly a century ago, when gold, cocoa and timber accounted for more than 90 percent of export earnings, mainly in unprocessed forms.
Today, he noted, gold, cocoa and crude oil still dominate Ghana’s export earnings, accounting for about 80 percent of total exports, with most leaving the country in their raw state.
For him, the challenge is not the availability of resources or expertise but Ghana’s inability to take greater ownership of the value chain.
He pointed to the gold sector as evidence that Ghana has developed the human capacity required to manage its own resources. According to him, Ghanaian professionals now provide expertise across mining operations globally, making the country a net exporter of mining talent.
Reactivate State Gold Mining Corporation as Asset Owner
Dr. Donkor’s proposal hinges on the revival of the State Gold Mining Corporation, but not under the traditional model where the government directly operates mines.
Instead, he wants the corporation to function as a lean asset-owning institution that partners with private mining firms to develop resources. He argued that the corporation should have a small professional structure, similar to the Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT), which holds significant interests in financial institutions with a limited workforce.
He stressed that nationalisation is not the solution, as it could discourage investment, but the state must secure ownership interests when mining agreements expire or opportunities arise.
Ghana Must Leverage Local Capital and Expertise
Dr. Donkor also argued that Ghana has domestic financial resources capable of supporting greater local participation in the extractive sector. He cited pension funds, which he said hold about GH¢100 billion, equivalent to nearly US$10 billion, as a potential source of capital for strategic investments in mining and petroleum.
“These are resources belonging to Ghanaian workers,” he said, arguing that innovative investment structures could allow citizens to benefit more directly from the country’s natural wealth.
He added that Ghanaian companies have already demonstrated capacity, particularly in the downstream petroleum sector, where some major players are fully locally owned.
Strengthen Indigenous Participation in Petroleum and Minerals
Beyond gold, Dr. Donkor called for stronger state involvement in emerging resource areas, including iron ore, bauxite, and other minerals.
He said Ghana’s policy direction, particularly in onshore petroleum exploration, must ensure that opportunities reserved for Ghanaian companies and the state translate into real ownership rather than remaining commitments on paper.
For him, Ghana has moved beyond the era where the state must directly run mining operations. Instead, the government should act as a strategic owner, using partnerships with indigenous and foreign companies to unlock value.
“The Ghanaian state must be at the centre,” he stressed, arguing that the country’s next phase of resource management should focus on ownership, strategic partnerships and greater economic benefits for citizens.
