Ghana should seek more revenues from mining sector: IMF

Ghana, Africa's second biggest gold producer, should look at options to increase tax revenues from its mining sector, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

Christina Daseking, IMF mission head to Ghana, said the Fund recommended that Ghana explores ways of taxing the mining sector in order to earn more revenue from there.

She said the options available to the government included raising existing taxes or introducing new ones, adding that mining sector taxation was low compared to peer countries.

Ghana said earlier this month that it was in talks with gold miners over additional taxes so as to benefit from the soaring price of the precious metal.

Daseking also suggested the Bank of Ghana should be ready to adjust interest rates to balance risk factors to its economy, whose expansion has been boosted by the start of commercial oil production in December 2010.

The mission encouraged the Bank of Ghana to stand ready to adjust policy rates should upside risks to inflation become acute, she added.

The Bank of Ghana's rates setting committee last week held the benchmark policy rate at 12.5 percent citing the balance of risks with annualised inflation at 8.40 percent in September.

Daseking said it was possible that high public spending, including a public sector wage hike, could hurt the economy and cautioned the government against over-spending as the country approaches general elections next year.