A bill to amend the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act has been laid in parliament and referred to the Finance Committee for consideration and report.

The aim of the amendment is to clarify the parameters for the operation of the fund, which was established in 2018.

The fund was set up to manage the equity interests of the state in mining companies, to receive mineral royalties and other related income due the state from mining operations, and to provide for the management and investment of the assets of the fund.

The ultimate objective is to maximise the value of the income due the state from the mineral wealth of the country for the benefit of citizens, by monetising the minerals income accruing to the state in a beneficial, responsible, transparent, accountable and sustainable manner.

In the existing act, the fund may create and hold equity interests in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in any jurisdiction in furtherance of its objects, and the SPV shall be free to operate as a regular, commercial company.

The President, Nana Akufo-Addo, in 2019 inaugurated a nine-member board to manage the fund. He urged the board to use the financial resources entrusted to them to raise indigenous players in the mining sector, which hitherto has been dominated by international corporations.

He observed that after a century of mining in Ghana, the industry could not boast of a dominant local player and indicated that the situation was not good enough.