By Afia Agyapomaa Ofosu
Vroom, vroom, vroom—the excavator’s engine roared, shaking the ground below. The vibrations coursed through Kofi Agyekum’s (not his real name) hands, hardened by years of labour at the Omanjor Quarry site in the Ga Central Municipality of the Greater Accra Region. Behind him, a line of 13 tipper trucks stretched out, their drivers waiting impatiently, some leaning on their vehicles with a mix of boredom and anticipation.
With unwavering focus, Kofi operated the excavator, scooping gravel into the truck before him. The truck bed gradually filled with valuable construction material. Standing nearby, his employers, Robert Kwasi Agyapong and Joseph Kotey Eyison, watched intently. Kotey Eyison clutched a small book, diligently recording the number of trucks loaded each day.
“This quarry is registered as Nii Oman Mensah Quarry Company with the Minerals Commission,” Agyapong revealed during an interview. “We’ve operated here for two decades with all the necessary permits. We pay royalties to the Minerals Commission and are subject to periodic inspections by both the Minerals Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Even the police come by to collect what they call ‘chop money.’ When the local assembly visits, it’s often not to collect revenue but to purchase gravel from us.”
Interrupting, Kotey Eyison added, “Business has slowed down because of the Chinese. They extract granite, and people prefer that to our gravel. We sell a fully loaded tipper truck for GH¢500. On a good day, we load about 50 trucks.”
Local Quarries Losing Ground
At the Omanjor Quarry, there was a notable absence of receipts. One driver, Michael Lebene, shrugged off the idea. “I don’t need a receipt because I buy directly from them and sell to others. Depending on the location, I resell for between GH¢1,500 and GH¢2,000.”
Outside Accra’s chaos lies another operation in the Central Region’s Awutu Senya District: the Nsokot Quarry, a Ghanaian-owned enterprise that has been extracting granite and producing aggregates for construction for nearly a decade. Quarry Manager Felix Martey Anderson described the operations as demanding but rewarding.
“A cubic meter of aggregates sells for GH¢150 to GH¢180, depending on the quantity required,” he explained. “Operating legally requires extensive preparation, including securing explosives for blasting, which you can’t acquire illegally. The Minerals Commission imposes steep fines of $50,000 or up to five years’ imprisonment for illegal blasting that damages surrounding properties.”
On the issue of royalties, Anderson was candid: “Payment is mandatory and tied directly to sales. We pay Value Added Tax (VAT), and our transactions are electronically monitored. It’s a transparent system akin to a Point of Sale (POS), where everything is traceable by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).”
The Rise of Foreign Quarry Kings
Since 2007, Maso Quarry has operated in the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipality, making significant contributions to the local economy. However, its office clerk, Bonaventure Appiah, voiced frustration over the rapid influx of Chinese quarry operators. “
committed to giving back; we pay 5% of our production revenue as a royalty to the Minerals Commission every two months.”
“These Chinese companies are crippling the business,” he lamented. “They employ locals and pay them fortnightly, but they evade taxes, exploit illegal connections to the national power grid, and often avoid Social Security contributions. Despite occasional arrests, they resume operations within days,” he added.
Millions Lost in Plain Sight
In 2021, the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) revealed troubling findings about Ghana’s quarry sector. Its research on “Estimating the revenue potential of the quarry subsector in Ghana, spanning 15 quarry companies across five regions, showed an annual revenue potential exceeding GH¢109 million. Yet, the government collected a mere GH¢7 million in royalties.
“There’s absolutely no monitoring and accountability,” said ACEP’s Policy Lead for Minerals and Mining, Eliasu Ali. “Companies self-report production volumes, which form the basis for royalty payments. Unfortunately, the Minerals Commission rarely verifies these figures independently.”
ACEP recommended the adoption of volumetric scanners at quarry entrances to enhance monitoring. These scanners would automatically record truckloads, linking data directly to a digital repository accessible to regulators in real-time. Despite the proposal’s promise, it has yet to be implemented.
The Role of Technology in AccountabilityBetween 2022 and October 2024, the MIIF reported significant quarry royalties: GH¢6.4 million in 2022, GH¢13.6 million in 2023, and GH¢13.9 million in 2024. However, these figures highlight an annual shortfall of over GH¢50 million in uncollected royalties, according to Business Development Officer Charles Odoi Anang.
“Some operators face low production due to machine breakdowns, power outages, and organisational challenges,” Anang noted. “These issues reduce their royalty payments.”
Benson Nortei Botchwey, another MIIF officer, highlighted discrepancies in reporting. “We’ve found companies paying over GH¢500,000 in electricity costs but reporting minimal production revenues. It doesn’t add up. Through audits, we identify such inconsistencies and ensure outstanding royalties are recovered.”
Botchwey emphasised the potential of volumetric scanners. “We’re working toward implementing them, but the process is awaiting final approval. It’s a costly nationwide initiative, requiring pooled funds. Once deployed, these scanners will revolutionise monitoring, providing real-time data remotely.”
A Missed Opportunity for National Development
Ghana’s quarry sector holds immense untapped potential. With effective monitoring, advanced technologies, and strict enforcement of regulations, the industry could transform into a major economic contributor. Until then, millions of cedis will continue to slip through the cracks, leaving a critical sector in need of reform and accountability.
The writer is an Independent Science Journalist, Climate Action Activist and Content Creator
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