Government has assured that its “reset agenda” targeted at the extractive sector is aimed at ensuring that the country’s mineral wealth benefits every Ghanaian, not just a privileged few.
The Deputy Chief of Staff at the presidency, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, says the administration of President John Dramani Mahama is pursuing far-reaching reforms to restore accountability, environmental integrity, and fairness in the management of Ghana’s natural resources.
Speaking at the launch of the maiden Africa Extractive Media Fellowship in Accra, the deputy chief of staff emphasized that the government is committed to ensuring that the days when a few privileged benefited from the country’s natural resource wealth are over.
“We are pursuing a reset agenda and extractive governance, and it’s within this broader context of accountability and reform that Ghana’s reset agenda has placed renewed focus on extractive governance, under the leadership of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama. Since January 2025, bold actions have been rolled out to ensure Ghana’s natural resources serve the people and not just a few,” she emphasized.
To achieve this objective, she narrated that since January 2025, the government has introduced what she called “bold actions” to reset extractive governance. These actions, she believes, will redefine how gold, minerals, and other natural resources are managed and shared.
Among these is the creation of the Ghana Gold Board, a new regulator tasked with overseeing and monitoring gold trading and exports to prevent leakages and ensure transparency in revenue management.
Complementing this is the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat, which has launched an intensive crackdown on illegal mining, leading to the arrest of about 1,400 individuals and the reclamation of degraded lands across the Western Region.
To tackle the pollution of water bodies, 453 Blue Water Guards have been deployed in seven Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs). Their mission is to protect rivers and streams from destruction caused by illegal small-scale mining.
In August, the government rolled out the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme, which encourages community-led mining practices while rehabilitating destroyed lands for use in agriculture, forestry, and other income-generating ventures.
These initiatives are supported by partnerships with global environmental organisations, including those under the UN Green Sahel Project.
Adding a green touch to the reset agenda, the Tree for Life Initiative, launched in March, aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 15, which promotes ecosystem restoration and sustainable land use.
“We also have land reclamation efforts and partnerships with organisations linked to the UN Green Sahel Project. Then we have the Tree for Life Initiative, which was launched in March this year. This initiative is in line with Sustainable Development Goal 15, which calls for the protection, restoration, and promotion of sustainable use of ecosystems,” she added.
Nana Oye Bampoe emphasized that the reset in the extractive sector is all about fairness, equity, accountability, sustainability, and restoring public trust. The President Mahama-led government, she added, is committed to ensuring that every ounce of gold and every barrel of resource extracted contributes to a shared national prosperity.
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