Accra, Ghana, June 2, 2018//- Figures from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) have shown that the mining and quarry sector retained its position as the foremost source of direct domestic revenue after it was displaced by the finance and insurance sector in 2015.
The GRA showed that all streams of fiscal revenue attributable to the sector in 2017 improved over those recorded in 2016.
Specifically, corporate income tax receipts increased from GH¢ 696.9 million in 2016 to GH¢ 969.6 million in 2017 while mineral royalty revenue grew from GH¢ 550.7 million to GH¢ 702.4 million over the same period, it added.
These represent an increment of 39 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. Further, employee income tax (pay-as-you earn) increased by 22 per cent to GH¢ 487.9 million in 2017 as compared to GH¢ 399.9 million in 2016, according to the 2017 annual report of the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
“Other forms of taxes collected by GRA, which are officially classified as self-employed, also increased from GH¢ 0.54 million in 2016 to GH¢ 0.78 million in 2017.
This translates into a growth rate of 44 per cent. Overall, total mining fiscal receipts mobilized by the GRA increased by 31 per cent year-on-year, from GH¢ 1.65 billion in 2016 to GH¢ 2.16 billion in 2017”, senior official of the chamber stated.
In terms of share of total direct domestic revenues collected by GRA, the mining and quarrying sector accounted for 16.3 per cent of those revenues in 2017. It is a marginal 0.5 percentage point improvement over the 15.8 per cent recorded in 2016.
The sector’s strong fiscal performance in 2017 could partly be ascribed to a combination of growth in production by large-scale producers and increases in gold price.
Direct Employment by Producing Member Companies
Total direct employment by the producing member companies was 10,503 in 2017 relative to 11,628 in 2016. Out of the 10,503 direct employees, 159 were expatriates and the remaining 10,344 were Ghanaians.
The former represents 1.5 per cent of the workforce. The reduction in the industry’s work force could be attributed mainly to the limited labour rationalization measures undertaken by Golden Star Resources and Abosso Goldfields Limited’s shift from owner to contract mining, the chamber explained.
The two mines operated by Golden Star Resources, Golden Star Wassa Limited and Golden Star Bogoso Prestea Limited, will transition into solely mechanized underground mines in the first quarter of 2018. In that regard, the mines downsized their workforce to match their operational requirements.
Besides, the producing mining companies invested in various social and economic projects such as schools, scholarships, livelihood empowerment initiatives, agribusinesses, water and sanitation as well as health infrastructure.
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report
