Professor Ransford Van Gyampo, a lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Department of Political Science has criticized the ongoing mismanagement of Ghana’s abundant natural resources.
In a statement, the renowned political scientist denounced claims that the incoming administration would struggle with revenue if it cancelled some revenue handles as promised during its campaign for victory in the just-ended elections.
“If the new government addresses the senseless granting of our natural resources to the white man, virtually for free, and checks gold smuggling, we can scrap nuisance and disingenuous taxes like COVID and E-Levy and still have enough.”
Professor Ransford Van Gymapo, Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana
The incoming National Democratic Congress government’s plan to scrap the E-Levy, COVID-19 levy, and betting tax has ignited concerns over the potential loss of revenue to the state amid the ongoing IMF program. Some financial analysts have warned that these cancellations could cost the country GHS 6.9 billion in revenue, exacerbating the country’s ongoing fiscal challenges.
However, Professor Van Gyampo argued that addressing systemic revenue losses—such as those caused by illegal gold smuggling—would more than compensate for the shortfall.
These sentiments were echoed by Kwame Asare Obeng, the Independent Member of Parliament Elect for the Gomoa Central Constituency, who highlighted the alarming scale of gold smuggling operations and their impact on Ghana’s revenue base.
“If we can put an end to gold smuggling—particularly the gold smuggled through clandestine networks to places like the United Arab Emirates—we would generate so much revenue that there would be no need to burden our citizens with taxes on remittances sent to their families in rural areas”.
Kwame Asare Obeng, MP Elect for the Gomoa Central Constituency
Staggering Revenue Losses from Gold Smuggling
The Gomoa Central Member of Parliament Elect pointed out that data from recent years paints a grim picture of the economic toll inflicted by gold smuggling.
He noted that between 2019 and 2021, Ghana reportedly lost approximately $1.1 billion in revenue from gold exports alone, adding that the situation worsened in 2022, with an estimated 60 tonnes of gold illegally smuggled out of the country.
“Many of us are familiar with Al Jazeera’s Gold Mafia documentary, where Alistair Mathias, a Canadian citizen, claimed to smuggle around US$40 million worth of gold out of Ghana every month on behalf of high-level state actors.”
Kwame Asare Obeng, MP Elect for the Gomoa Central Constituency
These revelations, he emphasized call for decisive action to dismantle these illegal networks, asserting that the British government’s estimates further highlight the gravity of the issue, pointing to an annual loss of $2 billion due to tax evasion, smuggling, and illegal gold operations in Ghana.
The criticisms from Professor Van Gyampo and Kwame Asare Obeng resonate with growing public frustration over taxes deemed regressive and burdensome, such as the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy), the COVID-19 levy, and the betting tax.
These taxes have been described as harmful, particularly to low-income Ghanaians, many of whom rely on remittances and informal economic activities for survival.
Kwame Asare Obeng condemned these taxes, emphasizing that a country blessed with abundant natural resources should not resort to burdening its citizens to finance development.
“God has provided Ghana with more than enough. What we truly need is to put our minds to work. The human brain is not pay-per-use; it is free. Let us use it wisely and to the glory of our Maker,” he stated passionately.
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