Suspend lithium agreement — Civil society

Think tanks, civil society organisations and religious leaders are mounting pressure on the government to drop the lithium mining lease granted Barari DV Ghana Ltd.

While the government maintains that the country’s first lithium deal has improved terms compared to the existing regimes for gold and other minerals, the think tanks and religious leaders are calling on Parliament not to ratify the licence because it is not ‘rewarding enough’ to the country.

Barely a week ago, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and a former Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, raised concerns that the terms of the agreement were a rip-off for the country.

At a meeting hosted by IEA in Accra yesterday, the religious leaders and some statesmen said the lithium mining lease must be done away with and a new framework that gives the country good control of lithium resources instituted.

The religious leaders included the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), Rev. Dr Cyril Fayose; the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, Most Rev. Dr Paul Kwabena Boafo; international Evangelist and President of Worldwide Miracle Outreach, Dr Lawrence Tetteh; the Founder of City of God Church, Apostle Dr John Kpikpi, and the Office of the National Chief Imam, represented by Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu.

Also at the meeting was a member of the Council of State, Sam Okudzeto, who also supported the IEA’s call for the lithium mining lease to be put on hold.

They resolved to mobilise other stakeholders to mount pressure on the government until the lithium agreement was dropped.

As one of the approaches to the issue, they also agreed to petition the President, political parties, the National House of Chiefs and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to make their positions known.

In separate statements, the religious leaders said the time had come for all Ghanaians to rise up and fight for the common goal of reversing what they described as colonial arrangements that had denied the country the full benefit the natural resource endowment. 

National interest

Justice Akuffo said although the government had maintained that the lithium deal was better compared with existing mining frameworks, it was unacceptably negligible.

She stressed that the time had come for the government to adopt a natural resource management approach that gave the state more control of the benefits of its mineral resources.

“Times have changed and we should always ask ourselves the critical question about whether the old ways of doing things is always the best.

Things do not always have to be done the same way.

 We have done the same things and have been at the doorsteps of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for 17 times,” she stated.

She called on Members of Parliament “to do something about the agreement by ensuring that it is not ratified”.

Discard royalty system

Mr Okudzeto said the idea of paying royalties to the country for the exploitation of mineral resources was a colonial relic that must be discarded.

“The constitution says that the mineral resources are for us, why should someone pay us royalties?

Why should someone come and take our lithium and say he is paying us royalty?

The 10 per cent royalties to be paid to the state under this lithium lease is an extension of the colonial mentality,” he said.

The statesman and legal practitioner urged Parliament to put the country’s interest above other considerations by making sure that the agreement was not ratified “because it is not in the interest of Ghana.”

He called on all groups and well-meaning Ghanaians to be united in demanding that the mining lease be dropped.

“Our strength comes from our unity.

 If the mosques, churches, TUC and others can stand together, we can influence change,” Mr Okudzeto said.

Collective effort

Rev. Dr Tetteh called on all faith-based organisations and voices which mattered to speak out and act with one accord to ensure that the lithium deal was dropped.

“As a nation, we have allowed ourselves to be cheated for far too long and it is about time we stood up and saved our resources.

 We need to wake up and come together in a massive united form and fight this deal,” he stressed.

For his part, Rev. Dr Fayose said it was surprising that an agreement of such importance had been “signed and sealed already” without thorough engagement with critical stakeholders.

“It is a clear sign of the collapse of institutions.

We have a real problem if Parliament passes this deal. 

We cannot, as a nation, sit down and allow this lithium resource to also go down the drain.

Ghanaians should have the bigger share of the lithium we have,” he said. 

Posterity

In support of the call for the lithium deal to be halted, Sheikh Armiyawo said the fact that the country had bad deals for gold, manganese, bauxite and other minerals did not mean that the status quo should remain.

“The mineral resources of our country do not belong to us alone.

It belongs to the children unborn.

 Those who negotiate it must do it in our interest.

Let us stop the contract, go into it and ensure that it is done in a manner that benefits Ghana,” he added.

Dr Kpikpi also said the prudent thing to do going forward was for a new framework to be created for the country to own the 100 per cent of the exploitation of minerals and determine what to give companies that helped to mine the resource.

“We should throw away this agreement and let the lithium rest where it is until we develop the capacity to harness it ourselves and exploit it to our advantage,” he said.

In a related development, a pressure group, Mass Action for Sustainable Development in Africa (MASDA), also called on Parliament to throw out the lithium mining deal.

At a press briefing held in Accra yesterday, the not-for-profit organisation called on Parliament to act in the national interest by pulling the brakes on the lease agreement for better arrangements to be made for the management of the country’s lithium.

The Executive Director of MAZDA, Atik Mohammed, who addressed the press, said the group would petition Parliament to act in the interest of Ghanaians because the deal was "unacceptable and not fit for purpose."

"It is the future of the republic and we must take steps to avert the tragedy that befell the country in the mining of gold and related minerals.

He said Article 268(1) of the 1992 Constitution provided an opportunity for Parliament to pause the agreement as steps were taken to rectify discrepancies. 

Background

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, signed the first-ever lease for the exploitation of lithium in the country on October 19, this year.

This followed Cabinet's approval of the Green Minerals Policy, which makes it mandatory for prospective holders of leases for lithium and other green minerals to establish a refinery for processing the resource.

Since the granting of the lithium mining lease, some CSOs, individuals and institutions have criticised the deal, describing it as bad for the country.

There have also been calls to grant mining leases through a tender process.

Mr Jinapor, however, defended the government’s position at a state-organised press conference last Thursday.

He was supported by the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission, Martin Ayisi, and that of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng.