Former Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye, has raised serious concerns about the lithium mining agreement between the Government of Ghana and Barari DV, questioning the fairness and long-term implications of the royalty framework governing the deal.
His comments follow the government’s decision to withdraw the revised lithium agreement from Parliament on December 10 to allow for further consultations with key stakeholders.
The withdrawal came after the Majority in Parliament opposed the revised terms, arguing that the 10 per cent royalty rate negotiated under the Akufo-Addo administration contravenes the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2010, which caps mineral royalties at 5 per cent.
However, speaking in an interview on Channel One TV, Prof. Oquaye said the national debate should not be reduced to whether the royalty rate is 10 per cent or 5 per cent.
He argued that the long-standing royalty cap itself has worked against Ghana’s interests, particularly in the exploitation of high-value natural resources.
According to him, it is troubling that Ghana continues to operate under a framework that limits royalties to a maximum of 5 per cent, even for minerals of significant global value such as lithium, gold, diamonds, and bauxite.
Prof. Oquaye called for a fundamental rethink of Ghana’s mineral royalty regime, urging the country to negotiate higher minimum royalty rates to secure fairer returns from resource extraction.
“The present withdrawal is quite interesting, because some people have viewed it in the context of the royalty percentage, from 10 per cent to 5 per cent. But this 5 per cent has existed for some time,” he said.
“It’s very painful to envisage that we have something that has got value, and then we say when you take this commodity, which has got value, don’t give me more than 5 per cent. That is what the cap means. Honestly, we have not been fair to our nation at all in terms of these gold, diamond and bauxite matters. You can say I want at least 20 per cent.”
The lithium agreement, initially laid before Parliament by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, relates to the mining of lithium and other minerals at Mankessim in the Central Region.
The deal was later revised after Barari DV Ghana Limited requested amendments to the lease terms, citing a sharp decline in global lithium prices that had affected the project’s commercial viability.
