Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said government’s ‘carried interest’ in mining operations, usually 10 percent, is “virtually useless” and has yielded zero dividends for the country for years.

He said this is depriving Ghanaians considerable amounts of domestic revenue.

Speaking at the launch of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa in Accra Tuesday, he stated that “when we look at the data, however, we see a matrix of zeros as far as the dividends that Ghana earned from this carried interest.

"From 2012 it is largely populated by a matrix of zeros, so it means to a large extent, the carried interest in mining is virtually useless as far as Ghana is concerned because we are earning zero for it.”

Dr Bawumia who wants a re-look at the system explained further that, "the zero earnings is because many of the mining companies say they are not making profits to pay dividends but they keep mining notwithstanding the fact that they are unprofitable."

According to him, what is needed is a regional strategy to mineral resource development, from gold to bauxite to manganese and iron, in order to move up the global value chain for each of these minerals.

“We, therefore, have to re-examine our natural resource control and governance strategy, our resource fiscal regime from exemptions to carried interest, and how to use our natural resources to build a better and prosperous economy.”

The Vice President underscored that the old model of relying on revenue from the export of unprocessed natural resources was no longer fit for purpose, and the time had come to introduce a new one, designed to meet our development challenges.

“The old paradigm of natural resource exploitation and exports of unprocessed agricultural products and raw minerals are no longer sufficient in order to grow our economies, create jobs and to meet social expectations in the provision of basic public amenities.”

The launch was attended by a number of high profile dignitaries including Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director, African Department of the IMF; Annalisa Fedelino, Mission Chief for Ghana; Natalia Koliandina, IMF Resident Representative for Ghana; Ghana’s Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo; Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, as well as the First and Second Deputy Governors of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari and Mrs Elsie Awadzi.