Former Speaker of Parliament, Aaron Mike Oquaye, has urged Ghana to take full control of its natural resources.
He said the country should stop renewing mining leases that do not give enough benefits and ownership to Ghanaians.
Speaking at an Institute of Economic Affairs press conference in Accra on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, Prof. Oquaye spoke about the future of the Tarkwa mines lease currently operated by Gold Fields.
He said Ghana is in a good position to take back control of important national resources once the current agreement ends.
“In many countries in the world, governments are renegotiating contracts that are still valid. Even there, people succeed in doing so,” he said.
He mentioned Libya as an example, saying the country successfully renegotiated resource contracts to favour its national interest.
According to him, Ghana’s case is even easier because the current mining lease is close to ending.
“In our case, we are even in a better position. There will be no renegotiation. The lease, the contract, will expire in April of next year, just a few months to go,” he stated.
Prof. Oquaye said Ghana should not automatically renew the lease. Instead, he believes the country should increase local participation and ownership in the management of its mineral resources.
“The question is should we bring them back to operate that which we know is our lifeblood? The answer is no, and it must be clearly no, because now we are in the era of nations owning their property,” he stressed.
He also linked Ghana’s economic struggles to years of poor management of the country’s natural resources.
“We know the state of our economy. Every regime in Ghana since the NLC which took power in 1966 has gone to the IMF,” he said.
According to him, Ghana has not fully benefited from its gold, bauxite, manganese, diamond, lithium, and oil resources, even though these are some of the country’s greatest assets.
“What we have is our gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese, lithium and so on and oil. The way we have dealt with these natural resources determined the situation we are in today. Should we continue?” he questioned.
Prof. Oquaye also connected the issue to how some Ghanaians are treated abroad, especially in South Africa. He said Ghana needs a stronger and more independent economy.
“Today we must all be very sad about how Ghanaians are treated in South Africa,” he added.
His comments come as the Institute of Economic Affairs continues to push for greater Ghanaian ownership in the mining sector ahead of the expiration of Gold Fields’s Tarkwa lease in 2027.
The institute wants the government to focus on local participation and national interest when deciding the future of the mine, which remains an important part of Gold Fields’ global production.
