A member of the Council of State, lawyer Sam Okudzeto, has kicked against the lithium deal the government is entering into with an Australian company.
The mining lease allows the Australian company to mine lithium for 5 years.
Okudzeto, joins a growing list of persons opposed to the deal and who are calling on the government to halt the agreement and take a relook at the terms.
In comments made at an event in Accra (December 12), he said it was also important for Parliament to also take steps to reflect the views of Ghanaians opposed to the deal for one reason or the other.
"The lithium agreement is not in the interest of Ghana, that is my view and if you will agree with me, then let us make a statement in support of the IEA to say that we do not think that this agreement is in the interest of Ghana," he said.
On what MPs should do, he stated: "I don’t even want to condemn our MPs, we will caution and advise them to do what is right."
The said deal is yet to be tabled before Parliament even though the government has reported signing some initial agreement with the company.
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and one of its fellows, Sophia Akuffo, a former Chief Justice, have serially exposed the inimical sides of the deal in media engagements.
The former CJ in recent comments bemoaned Ghana’s attitude towards exploiting its natural resources and how that has contributed to seeking financial assistance, especially from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Christian Council, the office of the National Chief Imam and a member of the council of state are the latest to kick against the lithium deal with Barari DV Limited urging parliament not to ratify the deal.#NewsCentral pic.twitter.com/7PGUn3ETjw
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) December 12, 2023
According to her, if the country continues to “sell” its resources cheaply to outsiders, then the cycle of going to the IMF for funds will never end.
“Gold, diamond, oil, bauxite, those are what we call traditional minerals; all these have been there. Since we became independent, we have been going to the IMF, borrowing, with all kinds of terms, and we ask ourselves why.
"There’s this adage that if you are doing the same thing, don’t expect different results. If this is how you are going to continue to exploit and extract your natural resources, don’t expect ever to be free of the IMF. It becomes like cyclical malaria,” she was quoted by citinewsroom.com.
Sophia Akuffo insisted that Ghana must make the decision to move away from royalties to exploring its own resources.
“We should be exploring; each year we should be looking at similar situations in terms of resource availability, resource finding, and what they are doing. That is what we are saying. We don’t have to go back into the royalties,” she opined.
She emphasized that there could be a better deal than what is already being negotiated and urged the government to ensure that the country is not ripped off.
“There are so many variations, modules, which somebody should do their homework to be able to be in a position to recommend a number that will suit Ghana. With all the figures and all that. Simply ask yourself the question, is this formulation of an agreement for the exploitation of our national worth, as good as it could ever possibly be?” she questioned.
SARA
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