Atik Mohammed has objected to the current form of the lithium mining agreement between the Government of Ghana and Barari DV Ltd.
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has assured Ghanaians that the deal between government and Barari DV Ltd, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium Ltd, to mine Ghana's lithium has significant advantages revealing that the execution of the contract will give Ghana 10% of royalties which, to him, is one of the highest in the country’s mineral exploration history.
“This lease differs from all previous mining leases in many respects. It is the first time in the history of our country that we have successfully negotiated for 10 percent royalties for any mineral, which is one of the highest for exploitation of any mineral across the globe,” he said at a Meet-the-Press series organized by the Ministry of Information.
He also disclosed that the government has also secured a 19 percent State participation in the mining company.
“We have already secured 19 percent state participation in this mining company with the requirement to scale it up to a minimum of Ghanaian participation through listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange for shares to be made available to Ghanaians and Ghanaian entities," he expounded.
The Minister at a press briefing on Monday, 11th December 2023 further emphasized the nitty-gritty of the deal, stating the government has the 10% royalties plus 13% free carried interest.
Also, a 6% interest has been secured by the Minerals Income Investment Fund and an additional 3% in the Australian listed holding company together with other benefits like the establishment of a refinery and the sale of by-products domestically are unprecedented and in the best interest of Ghana.
But Atik Mohammed feels the agreement isn’t transparent and as a result, he is sending a petition to Parliament to scrutinize it when it is laid for ratification.
He argued that the royalty rate agreed on between government and Barari DV Ltd is unlawful.
“It’s not protected by any law…What that implies is that there could be future agreements where the royalty rate will not be 13 percent [sic] because it is on the discretion of the Minister,” he exclaimed in his submissions on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” show Thursday morning.
The former PNC General Secretary also opposed the 13% free carried interest which the authorities have negotiated for Ghana saying “we cannot rely on the negotiation skills of a Minister to determine how much carried interest we should have in lithium”.
He noted; “This (lithium) is the future. It is going to replace oil, so we can’t be relying on his negotiation skills. There ought to be a law which tells that when it comes to lithium, this is government’s carried interest.”
Atik therefore insists this lithium agreement should be abolished as, to him, it leaves a lot to imagination.
“As for this mining lease in its current form, we must get rid of it,” he asserted.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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Why does Ghanaians discuss issues with emotions and sensationalism instead of expertise,knowledge and insight in the field,does Atik think the minister unilaterally drafted the agreement,hasn’t he heard experts in the mining field like Sam Jonah,Fui Tsikata etc commending govt for the deal?
Atik you got this one wrong, the negotiation could not have been done by just the minister.
Well said @ Kay. Why is government bent on selling almost everything they come to meet. Instead of spending on research to discover more of such resources for preservation against future use, all they know is to sell what they didn't discover. If your father passed on leaving a house behind for you, if you can't add more rooms at least don't sell what your late father left behind. But for politics, who is Abu Jinapor to negotiate a deal on behalf of all the people of Ghana without passing the agreement through parliament? If the Gold, bauxite, manganese, timber, cocoa, vast arable lands and crude oil are not enough to make life comfortable for some 30 million people, lithium cannot do any magic. The resource is not sitting on anybody's head, let be be as it is. We have all these resources and yet still we can't dualize the road linking our 2 major cities Accra-Kumasi with people losing their lives on a daily bases needlessly, we still have schools under trees, schools without furniture with pupils lying on the bare floor like lizards with their necks up to learn, we still have hospitals without beds with patients sitting on plastic chairs to receive drips, we still have communities without potable water with pigs, cattle ,sheep and goats competing with women for polluted water in community dugouts, we still have schools without text books, go to some government departments and see the table and chairs, curtains in there. No government should extract any natural resource again until they are able to convince Ghanaians what they have done with the earlier ones. Is it not a shame that with all these resources at our disposal we are still at the IMF doing la la su lalah. Hear PAUL KAGAME of RWANDA " We wont allow anyone to go and take bribe for our LITHIUM to go to foreigners for a pittance. If the owners of natural resources go around begging, then you should know there is something wrong with their minds". If presidents were transferable, Ghanaians would have lobbied for PAUL KAGAME to be transferred to Ghana long ago. He is a good example of what we call a LEADER.
Absolutely, if we can't make reasonable and effective laws to guide how these agreements should be reached, then we better leave the resources untouched. Those comparing this deal with previous deals must know that we have never had any deal favouring Ghana before. All those deals are nothing but a complete ripp off to the state, so they don't qualify to be the basis for comparison with current or future negotiations. We cannot continue to make repeated mistakes, unless we're a foo lish people or inevitably corrupt. Some few people cannot use their discretion to dictate our future, especially when we know their discretion always favour their individual interests than the state's interest