Evans BobbieThe Brong Ahafo Deputy Regional Minister, Evans Bobbie, says traditional authorities have not used mineral royalties to benefit communities due to lack of regulations and monitoring. He, therefore, called for the mandate of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) to be widened to cover mineral royalties in order to promote transparency and accountability in the utilization of such funds. According to him, while district assemblies are using their share of mineral royalties to finance recurrent expenditure, those accruing to stools and traditional authorities are often used to the neglect of development. Fifty-five per cent of the royalty is paid to the relevant district assembly, while 25 per cent goes to the Stool and 20 per cent to the traditional authorities. The Brong Ahafo Deputy Regional Minister stressed the need for disclosure and transparency in the receipt and utilization of mineral royalties, without neglecting the involvement of community members in determining priority projects for funding, using mineral revenues.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 24, 2018 11:15 UTC