The Institute of Economic Affairs has intensified calls for Ghana to strengthen local ownership of its mineral resources, urging government to reject any renewal of Gold Fields’ lease for the Tarkwa mines when it expires in 2027.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra, former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo said renewing the lease under the current arrangement would undermine Ghana’s long-term economic interests and weaken efforts to secure greater national control over strategic natural resources.
“The IEA considers the requested lease renewal or extension deeply inimical to Ghana’s long-term economic and strategic interests and therefore calls on the government to soundly reject this approach.” - former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo
She added that government should instead pursue a framework that guarantees “meaningful Ghanaian ownership” of the Tarkwa mine and strengthens indigenous participation within the mining sector.
Debate Intensifies Over Tarkwa Mine Future
The comments come amid growing national debate over the future of the Tarkwa mines, one of Ghana’s largest gold-producing operations and a key asset within Gold Fields’ global portfolio.
Earlier this year, Gold Fields Group Chief Executive Officer Mike Fraser confirmed that the company had formally applied for a 20-year lease extension for the mine.
Speaking during a visit to the Apinto Divisional Stool at Awudua in the Western Region, Fraser noted that Ghana contributed about 25 percent of the company’s global gold production last year, making Tarkwa strategically important to the multinational miner.
However, the IEA argues that the approaching expiration of the lease presents Ghana with a rare opportunity to rethink its broader natural resource management strategy and increase local participation in the extractive sector.
Calls for Economic Independence
The policy institute warned against what it described as Ghana’s continued dependence on foreign companies to manage key national resources, insisting that mineral wealth should serve as a stronger foundation for economic transformation and long-term financial stability.
Founder and Chairman of the IEA, Charles Mensa, linked the debate to Ghana’s repeated reliance on support from the International Monetary Fund, noting that the country has sought IMF assistance nearly 17 times.
According to him, the repeated bailouts reflect deeper structural weaknesses and the country’s inability to fully capture value from its natural resources.
“While we are selling our assets, we also have a huge low-hanging asset that we can tap into to pay our debts and to pay our way out into development, but those assets have been given away to foreign companies.” - Charles Mensa
Push for Resource Nationalism
Former Speaker of Parliament Aaron Mike Oquaye also backed the campaign against renewing the lease, arguing that Ghana should prioritise arrangements that maximise national ownership and economic returns.
“The question is, should we bring them back to operate that which we know is our lifeblood? The answer is no, and it must be clearly no,” he stated.
Prof. Oquaye further argued that Ghana’s long-running economic difficulties are partly tied to decades of weak management of strategic resources, including gold, bauxite, manganese, lithium, diamonds, and oil.
The IEA maintains that increasing Ghanaian ownership and empowering indigenous businesses within strategic sectors could help the country retain more mineral wealth, strengthen domestic industries, and reduce dependence on external financial support over the long term.
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