Concerns mount over Ewoyaa lithium deal
Former Lands and Natural Resources Minister and Damongo MP, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has raised concerns over the government’s decision to reintroduce the Ewoyaa lithium mining lease agreement, a deal that was previously rejected by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) when he first presented it to Parliament in 2024.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Jinapor reminded lawmakers that he initially presented the agreement between the Government of Ghana and Barari DV Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium Limited, during his tenure as Minister for Lands and Natural Resources.
“The attempt we made in the 8th Parliament to lay a similar agreement between the Government of Ghana and Barari DV was unsuccessful,” he said.
He pointed out that the explanatory statement provided by the current Minister, Armah Kofi Buah, closely mirrors the statement he presented in 2024.
“The terms of the explanatory statement now before the House are fundamentally the same as the ones I submitted in 2024,” Jinapor emphasized.
Under the original 2024 deal, the government secured key benefits, including a 10% royalty rate, double the standard rate for other minerals, a 13% free carried interest for the state, additional equity through the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), a 1% community development fund, and a commitment to local lithium processing and value addition.
At the time, the opposition NDC strongly opposed the agreement, arguing it did not serve Ghana’s interests and needed renegotiation. Now, with the NDC in government, the same agreement with minimal revisions is being resubmitted, reportedly using the same explanatory statement previously criticized.
Abu Jinapor urged the Speaker to reject the agreement, calling the move politically inconsistent.
“Respectfully, I pray this laying be overruled and rejected. The terms are fundamentally not different from those in 2024,” he said.
He questioned what had changed in the agreement, noting concerns that the current version may have a lower royalty rate than the 2024 deal, a situation worrying industry stakeholders.
The Ewoyaa project, located in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region, is Ghana’s first major lithium mining operation and is seen as a gateway for the country’s participation in the global green minerals value chain.