The Vice Chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Davis Ansah Opoku, has called on the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to provide Parliament with a comprehensive register of all mining leases granted to both local and foreign companies across the country to enhance transparency and accountability in the extractive sector.

The Mpraeso MP made the call during Parliament's consideration of the Public Accounts Committee's follow-up report on the Auditor-General's Performance Audit on the Regulation of Small-Scale Mining for a Sustainable Environment.

While commending the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for implementing 25 of the 29 recommendations contained in the original audit report, he stressed that greater transparency remains critical to effective oversight.

Mr Opoku said Parliament requires complete information on mining leases to properly discharge its constitutional oversight responsibilities.

He requested that the Ministry furnish Parliament with a detailed register containing all mining leases issued in Ghana, the names of local and foreign leaseholders, the locations and sizes of their concessions, the duration of each lease, the operational status of each concession and the conditions attached to the leases.

He argued that making such information available would improve public confidence in the management of Ghana's mineral resources, enable Parliament to determine whether concessions are being utilised in accordance with the law and help distinguish legitimate mining operations from illegal activities.

He further called for the register to be updated regularly and made readily accessible to support policy formulation and oversight.

“Our mineral resources belong to the people of Ghana. Parliament must know who holds these leases, where they are operating, and whether they are complying with the conditions under which these valuable national assets were granted. Transparency is indispensable to accountability,” Mr Opoku stated.

He added that although ongoing reforms by the Minerals Commission and the EPA are commendable, transparency must remain central to Ghana's natural resource governance framework.