President John Dramani Mahama, has announced a new policy directive aimed at prohibiting the exportation of raw bauxite and manganese by 2030.
The move forms part of a broader effort to halt the export of the country’s mineral ores in their unprocessed state.
The President disclosed this development during a keynote address at the Accra Reset Addis Reckoning event held in Addis Ababa on February 13, 2026.
President Mahama underscored the need for Ghana to cease exporting raw resources and instead focus on developing its refining capabilities to add value locally.
He cited the cocoa sector, which is currently facing significant challenges, as a sector where this strategy is already being implemented, noting that an emergency meeting was convened in Ghana prior to his departure for Addis Ababa to address these issues.
The President further elaborated on the government’s decision to discontinue reliance on foreign funding arrangements for cocoa purchases, opting instead for domestic financing through bonds.
This new approach, according to the President, will ensure that local processors have access to sufficient cocoa beans, thereby facilitating expanded production, job creation, and the strengthening of Ghana’s value chain.
”We have the capacity to process 400,000 tonnes of beans, but because those beans are collateralised, we cannot allocate those beans to the local processors, so we have to ship all the beans outside. Since we produce the beans, we can provide the local processors with 400,000 tonnes of our beans to add value.
”I say in 2030 there will be no mineral ore leaving Ghana. We are not going to ship manganese ore, bauxite, iron ore out of Ghana raw. You must process all that locally. That is the only way we can provide opportunities for our people,” he said
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
