The Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI) has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting transparency and accountability in Ghana's extractive sector through a media engagement on its 2023 Mining Sector Report and 2023 Oil and Gas Sector Report.
The engagement brought together journalists and key stakeholders to present the reports' findings, discuss emerging issues in the extractive sector and strengthen public understanding of natural resource governance.
Delivering the opening remarks on behalf of the Chair of the GHEITI National Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG), Dr. Patrick Nomo, the Director of the Real Sector Division at the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Philip Banahene, described the media as indispensable partners in promoting transparency and informed public discourse. He noted that GHEITI has evolved beyond a reporting mechanism into a platform for driving governance reforms, adding that “the value of GHEITI lies in ensuring that transparency translates into meaningful reforms.”
He highlighted Ghana's international recognition with the prestigious EITI Chair's Award at the 7th Global EITI Conference in Peru, where the country was recognised among only four of 49 implementing countries for advancing extractive sector governance. He further noted that GHEITI recommendations have informed reforms including the mineral royalty regime, the establishment of the Petroleum Register, improvements to the mining cadastre system and beneficial ownership disclosures.
Despite these gains, he observed that challenges such as revenue leakages, illicit gold smuggling and declining oil production require sustained reforms and stronger institutional collaboration.
In his address, Co-Chair of the GHEITI MSG, Dr. Steve Manteaw, traced the origins of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), explaining that it was established to empower citizens with credible information to demand accountability in the management of natural resources. He explained that the 2023 reports were completed and launched in 2025 because GHEITI publishes only independently audited data prepared in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing and the EITI Standard, which allows a two-year interval between reports.
He noted that although financial constraints delayed the outreach, GHEITI has an obligation under the EITI Standard to disseminate its reports, engage the media and communities in extractive areas, and incorporate stakeholder feedback into recommendations that inform government policy and practice. He described the engagement as GHEITI's first public outreach activity on the 2023 reports.
Presentations on the key findings of the Mining and Oil and Gas Sector Reports were subsequently delivered, after which journalists engaged the presenters in an interactive question-and-answer session to seek clarification on the reports and emerging issues within Ghana's extractive sector.
The engagement forms part of GHEITI's commitment to promoting evidence-based dialogue, strengthening public participation and supporting reforms that enhance transparency and accountability in the governance of Ghana's extractive resources