We Will Do Due Diligence To The Lithium Lease- J Jinapor

The Member of Parliament for the Yapei-Kusawgu constituency, Hon John Jinapor, has assured of the minority’s commitment to ensure the lithium lease granted to Barari DV Limited, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium Limited, receives the needed oversight.

Addressing the press in Parliament, the Ranking Member on the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament said his team will undertake open consultation of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other stakeholders when the lease is laid before the House as promised by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.

“Let me assure the people of Ghana that the Minority will not let you down. We will scrutinize the agreement. We will not allow this agreement to be rushed through. We will seek the guidance and involvement of Civil Society, and important personalities including former Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akufo who has been vocal on this agreement.”

According to him, the approval or otherwise of the lease will depend on the outcome of their consultations and scrutiny of the agreement and its terms.

“The new order is Lithium. Lithium is more profitable than gold, lithium is more profitable than diamond and the world order is moving to this green mineral and so the minority will insist that Ghana benefit from this resource and that the terms and agreement if they are not in the interest of Ghana, the Minority will kick against it,” he said on Thursday, December 7, 2023.

Meanwhile, he noted that a future National Democratic Congress (NDC) government will revoke licences of mining companies that haven’t received Parliamentary approval.

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, spearheaded the signing of the lease on October 19, 2023, an agreement that has since received criticism from stakeholders.

Critiques of the 10% royalty lease agreement for 15 years say it mirrors colonial-era leases which yielded minimal benefits for the country.

They have suggested either competitive bidding, joint venture or service contracts as better options in the extraction of lithium.

But the government says the agreement with Barari is Ghana’s first “successfully” negotiated mineral extraction agreement while it has touted the royalty rate as one of the world’s highest.