Gov’t to replace Petroleum Revenue Management Act with broader natural resource law – Ato Forson

Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has announced plans to introduce a new law to regulate revenues from Ghana’s natural resources, including oil, gold, lithium and bauxite.

The proposed Natural Resource Revenue Management Act will replace the existing Petroleum Revenue Management Act, which focuses primarily on revenues from the country’s oil and gas sector.

The new legislation forms part of a series of financial management reforms the government plans to implement in 2027 to strengthen accountability, improve the management of public resources and ensure that natural resource wealth benefits both current and future generations.

Presenting the 2027 Budget and the New Economy Agenda in Parliament, Dr Forson said the government would also establish a Ghana Sovereign Wealth Fund and introduce a Loans Act to address longstanding weaknesses in public financial management.

"As a complement to the revenue and expenditure measures, Government will implement the following reforms to address long-standing weaknesses in how we manage our public resources," he told Parliament.

Outlining the proposed measures, he said: "In 2027, Government will introduce a new law on natural resource revenues, establish a Ghana Sovereign Wealth Fund and enact a Loans Act."

He said the three measures were intended to establish stronger financial management systems and ensure that the country's public resources were managed responsibly.

"Together, these reforms will make sound financial management a lasting feature of our economy," Dr Forson stated.

Explaining the need for the new legislation, the Finance Minister said the existing law was limited in scope as it covered only petroleum revenues, leaving other important natural resources outside a single comprehensive revenue management framework.

"Government will introduce a Natural Resource Revenue Management Act to replace the Petroleum Revenue Management Act," he announced.

"The current law covers only oil revenues. The new law will bring revenues from oil, gold, lithium, bauxite and all other extractive resources under one clear and accountable framework, for the benefit of present and future generations," he said.

The proposed legislation is expected to provide a unified framework for managing revenues from the country's extractive resources, strengthen oversight and establish clearer guidelines for allocating and using the funds.

Dr Forson also disclosed that the government intended to channel natural resource revenues towards major national infrastructure projects.

He cited the use of oil and mineral royalties to support the construction of the Accra-Kumasi Expressway as an example of how proceeds from the country's natural resources could be invested in critical infrastructure.

"We have already used oil and mineral royalties to fund Ghana's first expressway, the Accra-Kumasi Expressway," he told Parliament.

"Building on that experience, our natural resource revenues will only be directed to major national infrastructure projects," he added.