Audit Us If You Don�t Believe Us � Goldfields Dares Gov�t

The biggest gold producer in the country, Goldfields Ghana Limited (GFGL), has dared government to audit its books if it doubts their all in cost figures. The mining Giant says it is willing to foot the bill for any independent auditing firm to check their books and ascertain whether they are being truthful to the people of Ghana or not. �� if you tell the politician or the public that our all in cost is about 12 hundred, they will tell you, you are a liar and therefore if the government can have an independent audit firm like KPMG we will bare that cost and then come and audit our books and the audit will show that in fact we are not actually manipulating or cooking our numbers.� The executive Vice President of Gold Fields Ghana Alfred Baku stated. Mining companies operating in Ghana are obliged by law to pay 5% of royalty, 10 percent windfall tax and a 35 percent corporate tax to government. Ghana which is Africa�s second largest gold producer is said to have about 25 percent of its internally generated revenues from mining. But many Ghanaians have questioned the benefit of mining this precious metal on their lives. Government as well has shown doubts about figures we chain out, the executive Vice President of Gold Fields Ghana insinuated. Mr. Baku said �it is not in our interest because we are listed in the New York Stock Exchange, we are listed in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange so whatever we put on the public the main we give the government�. He believes this audit will not only help build a better relationship but also boost the level of trust the public and government have in the mining giant. He made these comments on the sidelines of the West African Mining and Power conference held at the Accra International Conference Center (AICC).