Ghana׳s extractive industries and community benefit sharing: The case for cash transfers

While many African countries do not have a strong track record of managing mineral wealth well, Ghana is often considered a model of best practice, based on the government׳s distribution of a proportion of mining rents to mining affected communities. However, corruption and mismanagement by local authorities and traditional leaders undermine this policy. The paper considers the policy implications, arguing that the usual remedies promoted by the development community of transparency and social accountability are unlikely to be effective. An alternative policy is gaining more international support, which involves using the wealth from natural resource sectors to fund a universal cash transfer scheme. The paper considers the feasibility and potential benefits of this in Ghana, not only in terms of improving the developmental contribution of mineral wealth, but also how a cash transfer scheme may overcome corruption and poor governance.