Zimbabwe’s recent fiscal recalibrations have positioned the country as a continental policy model, the head of Ghana’s mining chamber said, as African governments increasingly weigh short-term revenue against long-term investment, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Ryan Chigoche
Kenneth Ashigbey, CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, told delegates at the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe conference that Harare’s revision of royalty proposals and the raising of windfall tax thresholds signalled a strategic departure from the fiscal pressures gripping other resource-rich nations.
“Those decisions are significant,” Ashigbey said. “They reinforce predictability, they demonstrate that policymakers are listening, and they show that government is willing to recalibrate fiscal frameworks in partnership with industry.”
The comments come as several African mining jurisdictions face investor unease over ad hoc tax measures, with policy uncertainty increasingly viewed as one of the industry’s biggest risks.
Ashigbey said short-term fiscal fixes often deter investment, delay mine development, and encourage informal mining, while Zimbabwe’s decision to ease the tax burden would help sustain production, curb smuggling, and strengthen long-term government revenues.
“This is smart policy,” he said.
The assessment follows a series of policy reversals aimed at easing pressure on the mining industry after sustained engagement with producers.
Most notably, the government abandoned a proposal to double gold royalties to 10% above US$2,501 an ounce, instead setting the top rate at 10% only for prices above US$5,000 an ounce under Finance Act No. 7 of 2025, while retaining 5% and 3% tiers below that threshold.
For Ashigbey, the reforms underscored a broader lesson for African mining economies: fiscal policy should be designed to attract long-term investment rather than maximise short-term revenue.
“Mining policy must never be designed for only the next budget cycle. It must be designed for the next generation.”
Invoking Nelson Mandela’s observation that “after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb,” Ashigbey said Zimbabwe had made important progress but still faced the challenge of building a globally competitive mining industry.
For investors, however, the broader message was that Zimbabwe’s policy recalibrations are beginning to earn recognition beyond its borders. Whether that translates into sustained capital inflows will depend on the government’s ability to maintain the predictability and consistency investors seek.
