CEDA Flags Weak Oversight in Mineral Revenue Management

Concerns over the management and accountability of Ghana’s mineral revenues are deepening, with the Centre for Extractives and Development Africa (CEDA) warning that oversight in the sector remains significantly weaker than in the petroleum industry.

Speaking after a media training session on improving transparency and accountability of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), CEDA’s Executive Director, Samuel Bekoe, pointed to a critical gap in public scrutiny of mineral revenues.

He noted that while the petroleum sector has benefitted from structured oversight through the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), no equivalent mechanism exists to track and evaluate how mineral revenues are managed and utilised.

“Today, many Ghanaians are aware of PIAC and its reports, but there is no equivalent for mineral revenues,” Mr Bekoe observed, stressing the need for urgent reforms.

He proposed either expanding the mandate of PIAC to cover mineral revenues or strengthening existing disclosure frameworks to ensure citizens have access to detailed, timely, and reliable information on how proceeds from the sector are used.

The concerns come on the back of a new study conducted by CEDA with support from the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), which examined the structure, governance, and operational effectiveness of MIIF.

The findings, presented during the training workshop for journalists, highlight fundamental weaknesses in the Fund’s design and operations, raising questions about its ability to deliver both commercial returns and national development outcomes.

According to the report, MIIF’s hybrid mandate—combining commercial investment objectives with development financing—has blurred its core purpose, making it difficult to assess performance and increasing exposure to political interference.

The study further revealed the absence of a clearly defined fiscal framework to guide the Fund’s operations. Unlike globally established sovereign wealth funds, MIIF lacks explicit rules on savings, stabilisation, withdrawals, and a binding fiscal anchor, creating potential risks for fiscal discipline.

On governance, CEDA identified significant vulnerabilities, including strong executive influence over board appointments and the requirement for ministerial approval of allocation agreements. These factors, the report noted, weaken institutional independence and reduce the effectiveness of fiduciary safeguards.

Transparency also emerged as a major concern. The study found that MIIF’s disclosure regime is limited, largely centred on annual reports, with no provisions for contract disclosure, beneficial ownership transparency, or open data access.

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“This reflects a compliance-oriented approach rather than a robust accountability framework,” Mr Bekoe stated.

The training session, organised jointly by CEDA and NRGI, forms part of ongoing efforts to build the capacity of journalists to better interrogate and report on extractive sector governance, particularly in relation to sovereign wealth management.

With mineral resources playing a critical role in Ghana’s economic future, stakeholders say strengthening oversight, improving transparency, and ensuring clear governance structures will be essential to maximising national benefit and restoring public trust.