Michael Edem Akafia
The President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines and Vice President for External Affairs at Gold Fields, Michael Edem Akafia, has called for a review of Ghana’s local content framework to ensure it promotes value addition, manufacturing and investment rather than focusing solely on ownership requirements.
Speaking to ghextractives.com on the sidelines of the West African Mining and Power Exhibition (WAMPEX) 2026 on Thursday (4 June) in Accra, Mr. Akafia said local content policies should be designed to maximize value retention in the Ghanaian economy and support the country’s industrialisation agenda.
According to him, while the Chamber remains committed to increasing Ghanaian participation in the mining sector, local content regulations should not be structured in a manner that discourages investment, technology transfer and manufacturing.
“One of the things , we at the Ghana Chamber of Mines has been focusing on is ensuring value retention rather than promoting local content for its own sake,” he said.
Mr. Akafia argued that policies requiring suppliers to be exclusively Ghanaian-owned could, in some instances, undermine the broader objective of creating value within the economy if they discourage businesses from establishing manufacturing operations in Ghana.
He noted that a greater emphasis on value retention would encourage companies to bring capital, technology and expertise into the country while creating opportunities for local employment and industrial development.
The Chamber President stressed that value addition should be at the centre of Ghana’s local content strategy, describing it as critical to addressing the country’s persistent balance-of-payments challenges and reducing dependence on imports.
“Value addition is absolutely critical. It should be a priority above all priorities,” he said.
Mr. Akafia, however, emphasized that efforts to increase value addition should be pursued alongside capacity building for Ghanaian businesses and professionals.
“The two objectives should be balanced to ensure that we achieve the best outcomes. One should not come at the expense of the other,” he added.
He cautioned that an excessive focus on nationality without corresponding value addition could create unintended consequences, including a situation where local participation is measured by ownership while most goods supplied to the mining industry continue to be imported.
According to him, this would do little to advance Ghana’s industrialisation agenda or increase local manufacturing capacity.
As an example, Mr. Akafia cited Tema Lube Oil Company Limited (TLOC), a company established by oil marketing companies, including Shell. He explained that despite being based in Ghana, employing Ghanaians and paying taxes locally, the company could be disadvantaged under procurement requirements that prioritize exclusive Ghanaian ownership.
According to him, under certain definitions applied to fuel supplies, companies that are not exclusively Ghanaian-owned may be excluded from supplying the mining sector, even though they create significant economic value within Ghana through local operations, employment and tax contributions.
Mr. Akafia said this demonstrates the need to reassess aspects of the current framework to ensure it supports businesses that contribute meaningfully to the local economy through investment, employment, technology transfer and local manufacturing.
He said the Ghana Chamber of Mines is prepared to work with the Minerals Commission and other stakeholders to refine local content policies and align them with the evolving needs of the mining industry.
Mr. Akafia maintained that a review of the law is necessary, noting that some provisions of the existing local procurement framework do not fully reflect current market realities.
“We are happy to champion the cause of Ghanaian-owned businesses. However, we want those businesses to be engaged in meaningful value addition within Ghana rather than simply participating as intermediaries or importers,” he said.
He added that the ultimate goal of local content policies should be to increase the amount of value created and retained within Ghana through manufacturing, technology transfer, skills development and sustainable economic growth.
