The Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) has engaged Civil Society Organisations on its Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018 (Act 978), amended by Act 1137.
On Friday, April 17, 2026, in Accra, the Fund and representatives of CSOs painstakingly perused the Act 978 passed in 2018, which has seen two amendments since.
The Chief Executive Officer of MIIF, Justina Nelson, in her welcome remarks, emphasised the importance of the gathering, stressing that it formed part of the fund’s commitment to stakeholder engagement, transparency and public education on mineral wealth management in Ghana.
While indicating that CSOs have been critical with their views, she noted that their vigilance and frankness were the elements the institution, MIIF, needed to propel its growth. She remarked further that MIIF organised the meeting with the CSO to bare it all in the spirit of accountability and transparency, particularly to deal with “some public misconceptions”.
REFORMS
Setting the tone for the conversation, she gave a brief account of her stewardship since assuming office in 2025. According to her, MIIF has witnessed the establishment of a compliance office, risk department, monitoring and evaluation, among others.
On royalties, which took a chunk of the discussion period, the CEO indicated in her opening remarks that the royalties had increased from GH¢4.90 billion in 2024 to GH¢5.43 billion in 2025, adding that MIIF had broken its own record.
THE ACT
Head of Legal, MIIF, Dr Tuinese Edward Amuzu gave an overview of Act 978 and teased out the key amendments under Act 1137. Since it was passed, Section 3(a) and (b), Section 4(1)(b), Section 4(2)(b), Section 4(3) and Section 25(1) have all been amended in 2020 and 2024.
Section 3 of Act 978 is basically spelling out the authority of the fund, and Section 4 stipulates the functions of the fund.
DISCUSSION
Participating CSOs were concerned about how MIIF was investing the fund, stating that there were critical issues needed to be fixed at MIIF to ensure it blossomed fully as envisioned.
They based their concerns on the fund’s strategic pillars with regard to investment and the law governing the operations of MIIF, stating bluntly that the act in its current state is “defective”.
The CSOs did not express hopelessness in the investment plans of MIIF but dreaded the political interference in its operations, which they opined could hinder the progress of the Fund.
Considering that MIIF is an investment fund, the CSOs opined that every action taken by the fund should yield returns to the fund.
They cited that it was okay for MIIF to choose to invest in road constructions or in the energy sector; however, the end result must be beneficial to the sustainability of the fund, as the fund is not a budget allocation to execute government projects.
ADVOCACY
The roundtable ended with the CSOs recommending that politicians stay away from the fund.
There was a call for a governance framework to guide MIIF, with a well-defined structure that takes out “excessive executive control”.
The CSOs also recommended a Legislative Instrument (L.I.) to correct the defect in the Act which they pointed out to MIIF at the engagement.
Meanwhile, the CEO, who, together with her staff present, engaged the CSOs, allayed the fears of the CSO.
She assured that work would be done to improve the fund to ensure that even after a change of government, MIIF would continue to operate properly.
She ensured the engagement was participatory, responding to questions asked while taking note of the key recommendations from the participants.
The meeting brought together selected CSOs, policy institutions, think tanks and extractive sector advocacy groups. The CEO commended them for their invaluable contribution to the governance of the nation, as well as for honouring the invitation of MIIF to have the engagement on Act 978.
For more news, join The Chronicle Newspaper channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBSs55E50UqNPvSOm2z
