Lithium deal is bad business for Ghana – Sophia Akuffo

Former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo has aimed shots at people who argue that the Lithium deal by the government is in the best interest of the nation. According to the former head of Justice in the country, people who have interests in the deal would claim it is the best but that is because of their selfish gains.

“People’s undue benefits must be floating around somewhere that is why somebody will find this a perfect,  wonderful lease agreement,” she told TV3.

“There are all forms of extraction methods which are much more better, a lease is not necessarily the best methodology. There are so many other best methodologies. There is a joint venture, there is a service contract, and even the service contract of many different permutations,” she argued.

“This deal is not the best for Ghana,” Sophia Akuffo noted, adding, “It is like percentages, what is the base figure? If you are from some super miserable formulation to this then we will say that is the best Ghana has had. Yes, maybe it is but it is not the best Ghana could have had.”

Madama Sophia has been vocal against the deal which the government of Ghana signed with Barari DV Ghana, granting the Atlantic Lithium Limited subsidiary a 15-year lease to mine the metal in the Mfantseman Municipality.

On November 28, Madam Sophia Akuffo said during her presentation as a Distinguished Scholar of the Institute of Economic Affairs that the deal was in bad taste and had no benefit for the country just like previous other deals of such nature.

“In modern best practices, the exploitation or extraction of mineral resources discovered by either a joint venture agreement whereby the host country takes an agreed ownership in the mining company or a service contract whereby the host country is the owner contracts the mining company and the mining company can be selected through a transparent competitive bidding process to mine the mineral and to reinvest for its cost of reduction plus profit margin so that the mining company is in contract to the owner. The ownership of the mining remains completely in the hands of the state,” she explained.