The Vice Chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Davis Ansah Opoku, has called on the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to furnish Parliament with a comprehensive register of all mining leases granted across Ghana to both local and foreign companies.

Opoku made the call during Parliament’s consideration of the Public Accounts Committee’s Follow-up Report on the Auditor-General’s Performance Audit on the Regulation of Small-Scale Mining for a Sustainable Environment.

While commending the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for implementing 25 out of the 29 recommendations contained in the original audit report, he stressed that greater transparency remains essential to strengthening accountability in Ghana’s extractive sector.

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According to the Mpraeso MP, Parliament cannot effectively exercise its oversight responsibility without a complete picture of who has been granted the right to exploit Ghana’s mineral resources.

He therefore requested the Ministry to provide a detailed register containing:

All mining leases granted in Ghana

The names of both local and foreign leaseholders

The locations and sizes of their concessions

The duration of each lease

The current operational status of each concession and the conditions attached to the leases.

Opoku argued that such disclosure would enhance transparency, "improve public confidence and enable Parliament to determine whether mining concessions are being utilised in accordance with the law."

He further noted that access to this information would assist policymakers in distinguishing legitimate mining operations from illegal activities and strengthen efforts to combat illegal mining.

The PAC Vice Chairman also urged the Ministry to ensure that the register is regularly updated and made readily available to Parliament to support informed policy decisions and effective oversight.

The call comes as the Committee’s follow-up report acknowledges improvements in collaboration between the Minerals Commission and the EPA, including efforts to integrate licensing systems and strengthen the regulation of the mining sector.

Opoku maintained that while institutional reforms are welcome, transparency in the allocation and management of Ghana’s mineral resources must remain at the centre of the country’s natural resource governance framework.

“Our mineral resources belong to the people of Ghana. Parliament must know who holds these leases, where they are operating, and whether they are complying with the conditions under which these valuable national assets were granted. Transparency is indispensable to accountability.”

AM

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