….Mahama Consults Imani
By Gifty Boateng
President John Dramani Mahama has stepped into the eye of the lithium storm, holding sensitive talks with civil society heavyweight IMANI-Africa over the contentious lithium mining pact. This rare behind-closed-doors meeting on December 2 signals a strategic push by the Mahama government to bolster transparency, accountability, and citizen participation amid rising public unease.
IMANI founding President Franklin Cudjoe, joined by honorary vice president Serlom Brantie, took part in the high-level discussion primarily focused on Ghana’s lithium agreement.
Though details are scarce, Cudjoe confirmed the President’s desire to hear IMANI’s views and foreshadowed the submission of a detailed dossier outlining critical concerns with the deal.
Meanwhile, the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry, in tandem with the Attorney General’s office, is preparing to seek cabinet approval for a new executive instrument to regulate mineral royalties.
In a Tuesday briefing, Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah sought to clarify confusion around Ghana’s lithium royalties, anchoring the current rate at 5%, and unveiling plans for a permanent, comprehensive royalty framework covering all minerals.
“The absence of a formal instrument meant the original 5% is the binding rate for lithium royalties. We are working with the AG and cabinet to institutionalise this across the sector,” Buah explained, weaving the move into a context of volatile global lithium prices which fell steeply from $3,000 to $630 per tonne threatening the viability of local projects.
November 2025 saw Buah reintroduce the lithium mining lease to Parliament, repositioning the deal after a failed ratification in the 8th Parliament amid legal and equity disputes.
He stressed that the company Barari DV Ghana Limited had requested renegotiations on royalties, VAT deferrals, and the Saltpond transshipment facility to keep the project afloat.
Buah acknowledged the temporary spike to 10% royalty at peak lithium prices, advocating ratification under Article 268 of the 1992 Constitution to cement stability.
Yet, opposition arose swiftly from Damongo MP and ex-Lands Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor, who rejected the renewed lease laying as a mere recycling of earlier terms. Jinapor challenged the government to clarify substantive changes and reaffirm Ghana’s rightful benefit from its strategic “mineral of the future.”
Jinapor warned of the human toll, with the stalled approval leaving residents of Ewoyaa and neighboring communities stranded unable to farm or develop lands embroiled by mining claims.
President Mahama’s engagement with IMANI, coupled with Parliament’s looming showdown, place Ghana’s lithium saga at a pivotal crossroads, balancing investor certainty, resource sovereignty, and public trust in a sector critical to the green energy transition.