Renowned economist and businessman, Dr. Kofi Amoah, has decried the fact that Ghana has no interest in the production of gold in the country aside from the royalties it gets.
In a tweet shared on Thursday, September 29, Dr. Amoah said that it is an embarrassment that Ghana, one of the leading producers of Gold in the world, has no interest in gold production and has sold all of its gold concessions to private entities.
Dr. Amoah made these remarks while reacting to a revelation by the former Chief Executive Officer of Ashanti Goldfields, Sir Sam Jonah, that Ghana’s government has sold all its shares in AngloGold Ashanti.
According to Sam Jonah, Ghana sold 30% of its shares in the company in 1994. However, the rest of the 25% was sold after the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Speaking on GTV’s BBUM show on September 25, 2022, he said: “Ghana’s government has 10 percent interest in all the mines but beyond the government, there is no Ghanaian who has [even] 2 percent shares in the mines. Ghana’s government has 55%, and they sold their interest from 55% to 25% in 1994.
“So, the Ghana government sold and took 400million dollars out and so Ghana government became 25% and not a 55% shareholder and later on we merged and became AngloGold Ashanti.
"And currently, as we speak, it has zero equity interest in AngloGold Ashanti. The Ghana government had 10 percent in the mines, like Obuasi, but as the company that merged, the Ghana government has zero percent of AngloGold Ashanti, which is a shame because we sold,” he said.
Dr. Kofi Amoah berated the executive and parliamentary leadership the country has had for selling all gold concessions of the country.
He urged Ghanaians to get themselves involved in the activities of the government, particularly when it comes to the sale of the country’s natural resources.
He added that if Ghanaians fail to get themselves acquainted with the activities of the government, the country will one day be sold by politicians without them knowing it.
“A BIG SHAME THAT SUCCESSFUL GOVTS AND PARLIAMENTS OF GHANA HAVE SOLD AWAY THE “GOLD COAST” THAT WAS OUR BIRTH RIGHT
“Citizens really need to sit up n finally realize that our collective assets are whittled away on our blind side by the very people we elect to be our custodians,” parts of Dr. Amoah’s tweet read.
View Dr Amoah’s tweet below:
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Renowned economist and businessman, Dr. Kofi Amoah