Lithium deal: Parliament must heed stakeholder concerns – Yaw Oppong

The Director of the Ghana School of Law (GSL), Yaw Oppong, has called on Parliament to carefully consider criticisms and proposed amendments surrounding the controversial lithium mining deal.

Pressure on the government has intensified amid concerns that the agreement shortchanges Ghana’s resource potential and long-term benefits.

Public debate has erupted around the $250-million project in Ewoyaa, Central Region, slated for production by 2025.

Key stakeholders, including the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and former Chief Justice Sophia Akufo, have denounced the deal as exploitative and lacking transparency.

The proposed 10% royalty and 13% free carried interest for the state represent an improvement over existing mining agreements, but critics argue it falls short of maximizing national gains.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, Yaw Oppong emphasized the need for thorough parliamentary scrutiny before finalizing the deal.

“It is important that these calls are taken into account. The investors should understand that the mere signing of the agreement does not make it effective. They should understand that until it goes to Parliament for approval, they have signed nothing”.

Yaw Oppong further encouraged constructive dialogue on the Lithium deal to inform Parliament’s decision-making.

“All these discourses have been very very good. We should encourage it, and it’s been so substantially stable. If we continue to do this, our Members in Parliament will usually listen to us, the Executive will usually listen to us before we enter into an agreement and it ratifies the political terms and subsequently, we get ourselves in trouble”.

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