The Ghana Chamber of Mines CEO, Ken Ashigbey, has called on the government to intensify engagement with the Minerals Commission and other stakeholders to bring small-scale miners fully into the tax base under the revised mining royalty regime.

He said expanding the tax net to include the small-scale sector would allow government to raise more revenue without placing excessive pressure on large-scale mining companies.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, Mr Ashigbey noted that small-scale mining currently contributes more than half of the output of large-scale mines, yet remains lightly regulated in terms of taxation.

“We, as a country, tend to do light regulation,” he said, adding that once the right percentages are agreed, small-scale miners would also be able to “put a bit into the kitty.”

According to him, a broader and fairer tax structure would ensure the government achieves its revenue objectives without relying primarily on large-scale producers.

The policy objective of government is to get more, so they would be able to take a lot more from the large-scale mines. The small-scale miners would also be able to bring in a bit more, and then all of us as a people would be able to get more,” he said.

Mr Ashigbey stressed that the Chamber is not opposed to taxation, insisting that the debate should focus on balance and sustainability.

“We are all open to fair taxation. That is something that we are not arguing about,” he said.

He cautioned against making long-term fiscal decisions based solely on current high gold prices, noting that market conditions are temporary.

“This phenomenon is a short-term phenomenon. You don’t take decisions that are long-term in nature just based on the phenomenon,” he said.

Using a metaphor, he warned against short-sighted policy choices.

“You see, eating on a constant and continual basis is better than eating one large meal once,” he said, adding that Ghana must avoid “an Esau mentality.”

Mr Ashigbey disclosed that the Chamber proposed an alternative royalty structure to the government following the introduction of the Legislative Instrument.

Instead of a sharp increase, the Chamber proposed removing the Growth and Sustainability Levy and introducing a sliding royalty scale between four and eight per cent.

“We made an offer. The counteroffer we then made was to say that instead of sliding down to four per cent and sliding up all the way to eight per cent, take GSL off and slide between four and eight per cent,” he said.

As part of the proposal, the Chamber also suggested allocating 1% of net profit to a community development fund.

“That 1% is taking off net profit and putting it into a fund that we use for community development,” he said.

He explained that the goal was to ensure mining communities see tangible benefits when global gold prices surge.

“When the prices of gold hit the roof, people in these mining communities should be able to point to the fact that we were able to do this project and do that project,” he said.