Our nation’s inheritance is at stake, with questionable deals giving away precious resources. Be informed and join the conversation for a fair and just future.
Many observers who have been concerned about the contractual arrangements underpinning the
management of our major natural resources to date (for example, gold, oil, diamonds, bauxite etc.)
were recently alarmed to read that the government has ‘given away’ our newly discovered lithium
deposits cheaply to a relatively obscure foreign company from Australia – Barari DV Ltd.
As would be expected, protest notes from concerned citizens and groups about the unjust/unwise
nature of the agreement have been raised. To counter these, some lawyers and government officials
have fired back with figures and calculations claiming that the current Lithium Resource Agreement is
the best Ghana has ever known in her history! We have a major controversy on our hands.
In this Press statement the GFC would wish to highlight some more fundamental questions that
should help us move our discussions forward.
Who are the owners of the Lithium deposits?
We’ll try and answer this question with a story.
Once upon a time, a very wealthy man, Mr. Abrofano, passed away and left his twelve-million Cedi
home and estate to his ten children. The will specified that the home and estate should be sold, and
the money divided equally among the ten siblings.
The third-born son, Kodzo, who had some entrepreneurial capabilities, was asked by his siblings to
take the lead in selling the property. With property of such value, he needed to work with an estate
agent and set about finding one. After several months, Kodzo came back with the news that he had
been successful. He explained, however that the estate agent took 65% in commission charges and so
they were all going to have to share the remaining 35%.
- What reaction?
What reaction would you expect from his siblings? We can expect the following:
o His brothers and sisters would not believe him. They would assume that he had colluded with
the estate agent to rob the rest of the family. This is because 5 to 6% charges are normal, but
anything beyond this is most certainly questionable. And if Kodzo was known in the family
previously for even a trace of untruthfulness around finances, this would only fuel their
suspicions further.
o A family feud will erupt almost immediately.
What Kodzo did in his business transaction with the estate agent is unthinkable. He effectively
handed over to the estate agent, the ownership of their family inheritance and seemed to be happy
to keep a pittance for the actual owners. It would appear that either Kodzo is insane or he has been
made insane by a very hefty bribe. - The Ghana Lithium Debate
I believe this is exactly what is happening with our lithium deposit. God has graciously given this
resource to us in Ghana and it is for all the 34 million people in this country as well as generations
yet to be born.
- 2 –
All of us cannot be at the negotiating table at the same time, so the way a country works is that we
have entrusted this business to elected government officials whom we expect to have the
wellbeing of all the 34 million people at heart.
They have gone to do the work and have come back with a deal in which they have given over 65%
of our common inheritance to a small group of people, a company called Barari DV Ltd, who are
not even Ghanaians and therefore have NO right to this inheritance in the first place. The foreign
company, actually, by this agreement have become the owners of the Lithium Resource and will be
giving us bits of the money as and when they choose. The 34 million rightful owners are left with a
mere pittance.
- An appropriate reaction
Once we see it like this, we will all feel like screaming, ‘This is unthinkable! This is unjust, this is a
terrible thing to do to your brothers and sisters in this country.’
Just like Kodzo and his siblings, we do not trust the people who did these negotiations on our
behalf. We think they are either insane or have been made insane by accepting a very hefty bribe.
Because their track record is not the best in handling money on our behalf, we cry foul!
The proper thing to do now is to: - Throw the present lithium agreement into the bin and tell the Australian adventurists to go
back to Australia and look for lithium there. The lithium deposits here are for Ghanaians and all
34 million of us are getting ready to make sure that no-one ever sells or buys our inheritance
again. - A Commission should be set up with good, self-respecting Ghanaians who are thinking
properly about our resources (and who also care about the prosperity of all 34 million
Ghanaians). The Commission should be asked to develop a new policy framework with which
all our natural resources will be managed. - All the spurious contractual arrangements we have made for our other huge resources (for
example, gold, diamonds, oil, bauxite) should be revised and those who sold our national
inheritance so cheaply should be held accountable. They have all caused serious financial loss
to the state and they should be dealt with accordingly. - The present duopoly of the NDC and NPP have been the architects of many of our very bad
Natural Resource Agreements. The Ghanaian electorate must deliver a blow to them by
rejecting both of them during the forthcoming 2024 elections and choose the alternative force,
the Ghana First Coalition, so that the right people will organize and govern this country. The
Ghana First Coalition promises to make sure that Ghana gets first place in our natural resource
agreements and that the prosperity that flows from these resources will reach and enrich all
Ghanaians and not only a few.
Dr. John Kpikpi
National Executive Council Chairman
Ghana First Coalition.
