Economist Adu Owusu Sarkodie says Ghana must adopt a more strategic approach in managing its extractive industry, warning that the country is not receiving enough public finance returns from the mining sector despite its importance to the economy.

Speaking at the JoyBusiness Roundtable discussion on the theme, “To Nationalise or Transform: Rethinking Ghana’s Approach to Gold Mining, Oil and Critical Minerals,” Dr. Sarkodie said the debate around natural resources should focus on how to increase the financial benefits that accrue to the state.

According to him, the current fiscal gains from mining do not adequately reflect the sector’s scale and contribution to economic activity, making it necessary for policymakers to review existing approaches.

“The mining sector is contributing a little to public finance and whatever we have to do, we have to be tactical so the contribution of the mining sector to public finance will be more than what we see now,” he stated.

Dr. Sarkodie argued that reforms must be carefully designed to improve value capture while maintaining the attractiveness of the sector to investors.

He noted that increasing returns from mining will require deliberate policy choices that strengthen revenue mobilisation, deepen value retention and ensure the country benefits more directly from its natural resources.

His comments formed part of wider discussions at the roundtable on the future of Ghana’s gold, oil and critical minerals sectors and how the country can build a more sustainable and beneficial extractive industry model.