The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has backed calls for a review of the lithium mining agreement with Barari DV.
The party insists that the agreement is not in the best interest of the country, adding that the country’s green minerals should not be exploited based on existing colonial model of mining lease concession agreements, which have not benefited the nation over the years.
Pressure has been mounting on government to reconsider the lithium deal following reports that Ghana is being shortchanged.
The 250-million Cedis project, located in Ewoyaa, Mfantseman Municipality in the Central Region, is set to commence production by 2025, but key stakeholders, including the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and former Chief Justice Sophia Akufo, have criticised the contract, which gives Ghana a 10 percent royalty and 13 percent free-carried interest in the state.
A statement signed by Director of Communications of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi said the requirement in the mining lease agreement for the establishment of a chemical plant to process Ghana’s lithium locally is very weak.
According to the NDC, the country urgently needs to review its mining regime to enhance the bargaining power of the state in the exploitation of mineral resources.
It is for this reason that government should have extensively engaged all affected local communities, as well as key stakeholders, including CSOs in the extractive sector, before executing the Barari-Lithium agreement.
On the requirement to establish a chemical plant to process lithium, the NDC said under Schedule Two (2) of the lease agreement, the requirement is not mandatory but contingent on the conduct of a scoping study to determine the economic viability of the processing of lithium in Ghana.
Even more worrying is the fact that paragraphs 1(b)(c) and (d) of Schedule 2(2) of the lease agreement envisage the inability of Barari DV to meet this requirement. This, it says, defeats the claim by government that no raw lithium will be exported from Ghana under the agreement. It also adds that there are no specific provisions in the mining lease that emphasize Ghana’s control over the lithium mining value chain and the benefits.
The NDC says it wants a deal that provides a clear and unambiguous strategy for maximising the benefits of lithium mining through value chain participation. There is therefore the need for mandatory requirements for the local processing of raw lithium before it is exported out of the country and a hundred percent off-taker for the by-products for local industries and manufacturing companies.
On the claim by government that Barari DV will be paying corporate tax of 35 percent under the deal, the NDC wants government to clarify the status of the company and provide the full facts relative to concessions that have been granted to the company.
The party also says the requirement in the agreement for Barari DV or its parent company, Atlantic Lithium, to list on the Ghana Stock Exchange is problematic for several reasons.
The party’s reasons are that the deal does not provide a specific timeframe in the mining lease agreement for such listing, listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) may not necessarily benefit Ghanaians as foreigners can invest on the GSE and/or hide behind Ghanaian fronts to buy shares.
It also says that over the years, similar arrangements have largely benefited a few rich and powerful Ghanaians and not the ordinary Ghanaian.
In view of all these, the NDC says Parliament should not consider the ratification of the Lease Agreement until all pertinent issues are satisfactorily addressed in the best interest of Ghanaians.