Founder and Flagbearer of the Liberal Party Ghana (LPG) Kofi Akpaloo has made a critical observation about the raging controversy and debates surrounding Ghana’s exploration of Lithium by Australian partners Atlantic Lithium.
According to him, he has been privy to the Atlantic Lithium contract of Ghana and the deal has not been well scrutinised and negotiated well enough to benefit Ghanaians.
It would be recalled that Piedmont Lithium, a leading global supplier of lithium resources critical to the electric vehicle supply chain, announced on October 24 that Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has granted a mining lease for the Ewoyaa Lithium Project which is being developed by Piedmont and its partner, Atlantic Lithium.
Kofi Akpaloo said “the deal is offering Ghana 10% Royalties which is normal because Royalties no matter what must be paid but the raw big deal being handed Ghana is other 90% and what the foreigners and the Ghana leaders have agreed on.
….According to the contract from the foreigners side, Ghana will be getting 6% from the 90% of the whole Ewoyaa Lithium exploration deal, while Foreigners walk away with a cool 84%.
…How can we sit down to be exploited like that?? Atlantic Lithium as we speak has sealed this 6% deal between the Minerals Income Investment Fund under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.”
Kofi Akpaloo further explained:
“When this whole Lithium exploration issue came up, I was the first to raise concerns on ASEMPA FMs Ekosii Sen afternoon show.
Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Mireku Duker called into the show to clear the air that the Lithium exploration is still going through stakeholder engagements.
We are not raising concerns because of any suspicious transactions but rather based on what we have experienced from the past.
Especially, when it comes to those who negotiate the exploration of our natural resources on behalf of our beloved country Ghana.
We just want to scrutinize and ensure that this Litheum, which is the new Gold in the world properly benefits the interest of all Ghanaians and not some greedy selfish few politicians.
Let me educate Ghanaians a bit about the use of Litheum. Litheum is used to build electric cars which the world is gradually switching to and this makes it a hot cake natural mineral resource.
I’m saying this because we had the same experience with the discovery of oil in 2008 under former President John Agyekum Kufuor where the oil negotiations till date have never served the interest of Ghanaians.
History is repeating itself with the same agenda with the Litheum discovery by the same party in power again negotiating a deal that will once again benefit foreigners and their foreign interests.
I believe all Ghanaians must be concerned because it is about the future of our next millennia generations, and if care is not taken, all our natural resources will be exploited by foreigners in exchange for nothing in return.”