As part of its recommendations, the policy think tank is advocating for greater local ownership in the industry and a shift to competitive bidding in the allocation of future mining concessions.

Speaking at a media engagement, Senior Research Fellow at the IEA, Dr. Eric Oduro Osae, said competitive bidding would guarantee fairness, transparency, and better value for the state.

“The IEA’s position is that it should be through competitive bidding. We said it should be through competitive bidding. IEA is not saying we should hand it over on a silver platter to political persons; we are saying that it should be on a competitive basis,” Dr. Oduro Osae explained.

He further stressed the need for resource ownership to remain in the country while preventing political patronage in the process.

“We are calling for local ownership by the process, which must be fair, transparent, and open. And the word we use there is competitive bidding. So, we are not promoting handing over local mines or our mines to cronies and politicians.

“What we are preaching for is local ownership open to all Ghanaians. The resources must stay in the country, and it should be open, transparent, and competitive,” he added.