Cross section of representatives of the professional bodies
Various professional bodies have called on the government to review sections of the Ghana-Barari DV lithium agreement signed recently in order to serve the country’s best interest.
They made the call at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) stakeholder engagement to dialogue with some professional bodies on the lithium mining lease agreement between the government and Barari DV Ghana Ltd.
Former Chief Justice and a distinguished scholar of the IEA, Sophia Akufo, in a presentation said though Ghanaians appreciate the importance of mining to the development of the country especially at a time when lithium as a green mineral would go a long way to help the country obtain additional mineral wealth, parliament should clearly spell out the structures and policies before any ratification is considered.
“If there is still work to be done on it, we can also tell Parliament to go slow, what’s the rush, and make sure that this time round we have an agreement which is fit for the Ghanaian purpose”.
According to a member of the Council of State, Sam Okudzato, said mineral wealth belonged to the state hence Ghanaians should dictate what it wants from any mineral extraction describing the 10% royalty offered in the agreement as unacceptable.
He, therefore, suggested that revenue should be shared after the entire extraction in all its forms rather than the mere 10% offered in the agreement.
“I think that Ghanaians should stand up, the Minister may have good intentions but his good intention alone is not good enough. I find something fundamentally wrong with this whole agreement so I am asking all Ghanaians to carefully relook the agreement for the benefit of the country,” he said.
President of the Institute of Chartered Accountant Ghana (ICAG), Sena Dake, also asked the government to re-examine the entire agreement in terms of pricing the lithium, the tax component and value addition while ensuring transparency and accountability at every stage of the agreement.
Kwabena Otoo Nyarko, Director of Research and Policy at Trades Union Congress (TUC), who represented the Secretary General, Dr. Yaa Baah for his part said the contract may be described as the best by many because of poor mining regime the country has experienced over the years.
He said Ghana, for instance, obtained about 5 million ounces of gold in 2020 and earned only about 10 percent revenue.
Prof. Victor Norgbey, a representative of University Teachers Association (UTAG) in his view believes that the 30 percent stake in the contract would not inure to the best interest of the country and therefore asked the government to hasten slowly with the agreement to ensure every section, clause serves not only the interest of Ghanaians but also future generations.
President of the Ghana Institute of Architect, Forster Osae-Akonnor, also supported views for the government to reconsider its position to ensure every aspect of the deal takes into consideration the infrastructural development of the country.
Dr. Latifatu Mohammed Adjah of the Ghana Institution of Engineers for her part said Ghana has over the years earned meager revenue from the mining sector due to lack of research and investment.
She, therefore, appealed to political and social actors to critically consider investing in the area in order to prevent Ghana from continuously earning very little revenue from contract in future.
Ebenezer K. Amponsah