Minority won’t let you down; we will scrutinise Lithium deal with Barari DV Ltd – John Jinapor assure Ghanaians

The Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu, John Jinapor has demanded that government lays the lithium mining agreement with Barari DV Ghana Ltd before Parliament as a matter of urgency.

Speaking on behalf of the Minority in Parliament, he said the group will not let Ghanaians down by ensuring the country is not short-changed in the deal.

He stressed that the Minority will scrutinise the deal to ensure the deal to allow Barari DV Ltd to mine lithium in Ghana become the best.

“Article 268 of the 1992 Constitution is explicit and it states that any transaction, including but not limited to the application for a license to exploit natural resources, requires prior parliamentary approval. On this note, I want to make it loud and clear that the agreement between the government of Ghana and Barari DV should be laid before Parliament without delay.

“Let me assure the people of Ghana that the Minority will not let you down, we will scrutinize the agreement, we will not allow this agreement to rush through,” John Jinapor told journalists in Parliament on Thursday, December 7.

The MP who also serves as a Ranking Member on the Mines and Energy Committee continued, “We will seek the guidance and the involvement of civil society, and we will speak to important personalities including former Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo who has been vocal on this Lithium agreement.”

“The new order is lithium. Lithium is more profitable than gold, lithium is more profitable than diamond and the world order is moving to this green mineral. So, the Minority will insist that Ghana benefits from these resources and that the terms and agreement if they are not in the interest of Ghana, the Minority will kick against that.”

Meanwhile, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has disclosed that government is already sending the deal to Parliament.

Addressing a press conference today, he noted that the issue of ratification of the mining lease, which has been raised by several people, has never been lost on government in the process of negotiating the deal.

He said this is why it is expressly provided for in the Mining Lease granted to Barari DV Ghana Ltd and the agreement will be duly tabled before Parliament to seek ratification.

Barari DV Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Australian-based Atlantic Lithium Limited, was granted a 15-year mining lease in October 2023 for the exploitation of lithium in the Ewoyaa area of the Central Region.

The project, with a life of twelve years, is expected to produce approximately 350,000 tonnes of concentrate at 5.5-6% lithium oxide.