Data and policy analyst, Mr. Alfred Appiah has highlighted that the 2025 fiscal year concluded with gold cementing its status as the undisputed backbone of Ghana’s economy, yet he warns that the state is missing a critical opportunity to convert this mineral wealth into sustainable development.
With gold accounting for a staggering 67% of total exports, the surge in national output was driven exclusively by the small-scale mining sector, which has now overtaken large-scale operations in volume.
This structural shift necessitates an immediate policy pivot toward aggressive fiscal revenue mobilization from artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) to ensure the current windfall funds long-term national infrastructure.
“Beyond foreign exchange gains, Ghana should be mobilizing fiscal revenues from the small-scale mining sector to support transformative infrastructure projects. If small-scale mining now accounts for more than half of output and is being increasingly formalized through the Goldbod, it should also be making a much stronger contribution to government revenues.”
Mr. Alfred Appiah
Data recently released by the Gold Board (GoldBod) reveals that gold exports reached a value of approximately $20.97 billion, single-handedly offsetting the country’s total import bill of $17.5 billion.
This performance resulted in a robust current account surplus of 8.1% of GDP and bolstered gross international reserves to 5.7 months of import cover.
However, the current “price effect” remains a volatile foundation; while the formalization of ASM under GoldBod has successfully captured foreign exchange, the transition from trade monitoring to fiscal extraction remains incomplete, leaving a revenue gap that could otherwise finance transformative public projects.
Leveraging the GoldBod Framework for Fiscal Uptake
To realize the potential of Appiah’s proposal, the government must move beyond simply “mopping up” gold for reserves and implement a more sophisticated tax compliance mechanism.
Currently, the ASM sector benefits from the removal of certain withholding taxes—a move that successfully incentivized miners to sell through official channels rather than smuggling.
However, as the sector matures, the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) should collaborate with GoldBod to introduce a tiered “Development Levy” that scales with global gold prices.
By utilizing the digital traceability systems already established for the Gold-for-Reserves programme, the state can automate revenue collection at the point of sale, ensuring that the surge in gold currently flowing through formal channels contributes directly to the Consolidated Fund.
From Commodity Dependence to Infrastructure Transformation
The push for increased fiscal contributions from ASM is rooted in the need to break the cycle of commodity-driven volatility. Industry analysts suggest that the state should earmark a specific percentage of ASM-derived revenue for a “Mineral Infrastructure Fund,” modeled after successful resource management acts in other jurisdictions.
This fund would target the very communities where mining occurs, providing visible “transformative infrastructure” such as paved roads, stabilized power grids, and modern healthcare facilities.
Such a move would not only satisfy the fiscal requirements mentioned by Mr. Appiah but also create a social contract with miners, who would be more willing to comply with tax regimes if they see mineral wealth translating into local development.
Strengthening Regulatory Oversight and Formalization
Finalizing the fiscalization of the ASM sector requires a shift from “generic formalization” to a more nuanced, multi-tier regulatory regime.
According to the recent sector reports, over 85% of small-scale operations historically occurred in the shadows due to bureaucratic hurdles.
To maximize revenue, the government must simplify the licensing process and provide geological data to miners, which increases their productivity and, by extension, their taxable income.
By empowering the Geological Survey Authority to map viable ASM zones, the government reduces the “trial and error” mining that leads to environmental degradation and revenue leakages.
Ultimately, the goal is to treat the ASM sector not just as a source of foreign exchange, but as a formal economic pillar capable of sustaining Ghana’s fiscal health for decades to come.
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