An analysis of regulatory and institutional challenges in the gold mining sector of Ghana and the way forward

Abstract

The gold mining sector in Ghana predates independence and has over the years contributed significantly to Ghana’s socio-economic development through revenue generation, employment creation and an increase in foreign direct investments. Ghana has the necessary laws, policies and available institutions to effectively supervise and monitor gold mining activities to ensure development and to minimize environmental degradation. However, some of these mining laws and policies which have direct or indirect impact on development and the environment are not adequately complied with due to lack of effective implementation and monitoring to ensure compliance. The regulatory institutions in the gold mining sector are faced with significant challenges. They include lack of adequate human and institutional capacity; dealing with multiple regulations and inter-institutional conflicts; lack of proper coordination between the institutions and political interference in the permit processing among other challenges. For the institutions to be able to perform their roles of effective monitoring and supervision to ensure effective compliance of mining laws and policies, it would require coordination between the relevant regulatory institutions, addressing the issue of multiple regulations and inter-agency conflicts and provision of sufficient staffing and resources for monitoring, regulatory enforcement and community inter-action. The aim of this article is to highlight the significant challenges facing regulatory bodies in the gold mining sector of Ghana, and suggest some solutions to these challenges.