CPP flagbearer accuses Mahama administration of selling Ghana's gold

Presidential candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Ivor Greenstreet has accused the Mahama-led administration of giving away Ghana’s gold resources to foreign companies for cheap.

His comments follow a new mining development deal between government and Goldfields Ghana Limited, a South African company.

Under the new deal, Goldfields has been given a 2.5 percent reduction in corporate tax and a further two percent reduction in royalties.

The tax which was 35.0 percent has been reduced to 32.5 percent, while royalty from a flat rate of 5 percent has also been reduced to 3 percent.

Many civil society groups have demanded publication of the agreement which has been described as a giveaway deal.

Ivor Greenstreet is demanding an immediate reversal of the deal.

He told Joy News’s Francis Abban in an interview the deal will cause the country to lose revenue.

“I feel it is a bad deal for Ghanaians and I don’t think that proper assessment has been done.”

“Take a look at what South Africa has done with their gold, look at Johannesburg, these are all places with gold so clearly there is something we’ve not been doing right and we can’t continue doing things the same way,” he added.

He said if he had the power, he will not only change the deal but demand more.

To Non-government organization, Third World Network, the deal means Ghana is foregoing US$26m of tax and royalty from the Tarkwa and Damang Mines this year alone.

Meanwhile, information available to Joy News indicates the mining review committee of Ghana was not part of this agreement.

According to chairman of the committee, Professor Akilakpa Sawyerr, “I feel obliged to state categorically that MRC was not involved in the development of positions, nor the conduct of the negotiations that produced the Gold Fields development agreements ratified by Parliament. Those negotiations were carried out on the blind side of the Committee.’’