The Paramount Chief of the Mankessim Traditional Area, Osagyefo Amanfo Edu IV, has appealed to Parliament to expedite approval of the mining lease for the Ewoyaa Lithium Project, warning that continued delays are worsening hardship in affected communities.
Speaking on The Pulse, following a JoyNews documentary titled Hope on Pause: The Lithium Promises, which highlights how stalled commitments have left local aspirations in limbo, the chief stressed that parliamentary debates over the proposed 5% royalty should not hold up the entire project.
He argued that legislators could continue discussions on the royalty arrangement while allowing the mining lease to be approved immediately.
According to Osagyefo Amanfo Edu IV, mining operations require substantial preparation before extraction begins. Approving the lease, he said, would allow the company to commence preliminary work, including resettlement of residents, compensation processes, and delivery of promised infrastructure projects.
“It takes not less than a year to complete and commission a mine. They are going to do the civil works, mechanical works, and electrical works. After that, they will handle resettlement simultaneously. These processes cannot be done within the next six or seven months, so my opinion is that Parliament should approve the lease so these processes can commence,” he explained.
He added, “If our interest now is the royalty, by January 2027, when production starts, then we get our royalties.”
The chief emphasized that early approval is crucial to ensuring that families displaced by the project can be relocated, supported, and given the chance to benefit from the development they were promised. He warned that any further delay would exacerbate the already precarious living conditions in the affected communities.
READ ALSO:
