Political scientist, Prof Ransford Gyampo, has expressed concern over government’s agreement with a foreign entity, Barari DV Limited, to engage in lithium mining in the country.

According to him, the deal is not favorable to the country, and it is only being perpetrated due to the benefits it will afford some personalities in government.

To this end, he questioned why the Minerals Commission would opt for a Concession Arrangement which confers ownership of the country’s natural resources to foreigners, instead of Service Contract Arrangement which gives ownership to the country.

“It’s simple. They will get their upfront cuts and kickbacks even before the mining takes place in 2025. Others would want to rush to get what they can get now, before they leave tomorrow…”
Prof Ransford Gyampo

Prof Gyampo lamented how over the years, and especially with such agreement, how the country’s political elites and “half-baked” CEOs of relevant sectors have handled deals of Ghana’s mining sector.

He explained that they have often been led by their own individual “selfish gains” and not what will benefit the entire nation and local communities.

Exploitation of Ghana’s natural resources

Furthermore, Prof Gyampo noted that the “commonsensical” approach to mining the country’s Lithium is through what is referred to as Service Contract Arrangement.

Under this arrangement, he highlighted that a foreigner explores to locate where exactly the country’s natural resource is, mines it and gives it to back to Ghana as the owners.

“In return, we pay the foreigner the cost of exploration and mining, plus an agreed profit margin. We then take over the natural resource and will decide whether to sell directly or refine before selling.”
Prof Ransford Gyampo

Moreover, Prof Gyampo maintained that the most corrupt and incompetent approach to mining is through the colonial Concession Arrangement. Here, he stated that foreigners explore, mine, sell and pay government just a token in terms of royalties and taxes.

“For instance, in a year, the local community in this Lithium deal, per a recent estimation of the Institute of Economic Affairs, gets 6million USD while the foreigner takes home 24 billion USD.”
Prof Ransford Gyampo

Commenting on a statement by the Minerals Commission which seemed to encourage government to “hastily mine” the Lithium because prices are falling, Prof Gyampo questioned whether such a move makes “economic sense”.

“… Don’t prices fall and rise? Won’t we further lower the prices when we mine and sell at a time when prices are low? At the 6th Form, there was a popular book called ‘Economics without Tears’. We read it. But it appears some recent CEO appointees didn’t read this book. Else, why sell today when prices are down, when you know prices will go up tomorrow?”
Prof Ransford Gyampo

Meanwhile, Prof Gyampo revealed that this time around, stakeholders in the country will hold government accountable with regards to the operations of the agreement. He emphasized that relevant experts are all watching and policing everything.

“I hear the Minister Jinapor is going to hold a Press Conference on this matter. We await him! Let’s see how and why he would favor or oppose the serial mortgaging of our national interest to foreigners. Let’s see how he’s going to speak to defend or oppose foreign interest.”
Prof Ransford Gyampo