Damang Mine Takeover: Why the CHRAJ Petition Against Mahama Lacks Weight

OPEN LETTER TO THE CHRAJ BOSS

WHY THE CHRAJ PETITION AGAINST PRESIDENT MAHAMA OVER THE DAMANG MINE TAKEOVER APPEARS WEAK, MISPLACED, AND LARGELY IRRELEVANT AFTER EXAMINING THE FULL FACTS

Dear Commissioner,

I write this open letter in response to the petition reportedly submitted by Mr. Emmanuel Senyo Amekplenu to CHRAJ concerning allegations of possible conflict of interest involving President John Dramani Mahama in relation to Ibrahim Mahama, CEO of Engineers & Planners, over the Damang Mine takeover.

At the very outset, as you take time to carefully read and understand the full scenario surrounding the Damang Mine transition and the concerns raised by Mr. Emmanuel Senyo Amekplenu, I wish to respectfully state that if I had access to the full disclosure and complete contents of the petition, I would have dealt directly and comprehensively with every single issue, allegation, question, and constitutional concern raised therein from a factual, legal, and analytical perspective.

Nevertheless, based on the publicly available information and issues circulating in the public domain, I strongly believe that most, if not all, of the issues raised by the petitioner can objectively be described as weak, speculative, politically stretched, and largely irrelevant when examined against the factual history surrounding the Damang Mine transition.

After carefully studying the historical background of the Damang Mine operations, it becomes abundantly clear that before Engineers & Planners (E&P), the Ghanaian-owned company linked to businessman Ibrahim Mahama, took over the Damang Mine concession, the mine was operated by Abosso Goldfields Limited, which was largely controlled by Gold Fields, a South African multinational mining company.

Abosso Goldfields came into its present form around January 2002 when Gold Fields together with Repadre Capital Corporation acquired majority interest in the Damang Mine operations. The ownership structure at the time included Gold Fields as the majority shareholder, IAMGOLD as a minority shareholder, and the Government of Ghana with a statutory 10% interest.

IAMGOLD, a Canadian mining company, entered Ghana around 2002 after acquiring Repadre Capital Corporation, which already had interests in the Damang and Tarkwa mines. However, IAMGOLD later exited the Ghanaian operations completely in 2011 after selling its shares back to Gold Fields, thereby making Gold Fields the dominant owner and operator of the Damang Mine for many years.

It is equally important to establish that Engineers & Planners did not suddenly emerge because President John Dramani Mahama returned to office. The company had already been operating at Damang for many years as a mining contractor and operational support company, handling heavy earthmoving and mining activities long before eventually becoming the lease holders. In fact, the operational relationship between Engineers & Planners and Damang Mine dates back to the early 2000s, with the company becoming one of the major contractors at the mine over the years. This alone substantially weakens any suggestion by Mr. Emmanuel Senyo Amekplenu that the current takeover was merely a sudden political arrangement engineered under the present administration.

The actual process leading to the Damang Mine takeover by Engineers & Planners reportedly started around 2023 and 2024 when discussions intensified concerning the future of the Damang mining lease which was nearing expiration under Gold Fields. As the lease approached its expiry in 2025, the Government of Ghana began considering transition options and possible indigenous Ghanaian participation in the mining sector. This means the process itself predates the current administration and was already known during the tenure of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and key officials within the previous government.

Therefore, attempts by the petitioner to create the public impression that the entire process suddenly materialized because John Mahama became President again do not align with the historical timeline and operational facts already available within the public domain.

Engineers & Planners emerged as one of the companies considered capable because the company already possessed operational experience at Damang, heavy mining equipment, technical and financial partnerships, and years of operational credibility within Ghana's mining industry. The company had already established itself over decades as one of Ghana's largest indigenous mining and construction firms long before the current administration assumed office.

For these reasons, the Damang Mine transition should not simply be reduced to a family affair or automatically labeled as conflict of interest merely because Ibrahim Mahama is the brother of President John Dramani Mahama. In constitutional governance, family relationship alone does not automatically amount to corruption, abuse of office, or constitutional breach unless actual evidence of unlawful conduct, improper influence, abuse of office, or illegal benefit is established through lawful investigation.

It is also important to state that Engineers & Planners is not the only company in Ghana with mining machinery and operational capacity. There are several local and international companies with similar heavy-duty mining capabilities. However, E&P's long-standing operational involvement at Damang naturally gave the company strategic familiarity and operational advantage during transition discussions.

Some people may still ask whether the Damang Mine transition process was opened competitively and whether other companies were considered. Such matters are subject to regulatory and governmental review where necessary. However, the mere existence of competing interests does not invalidate the eventual selection of a company that already possessed operational familiarity, technical capacity, and mining experience connected to the concession.

Others also question whether Gold Fields was unfairly denied lease renewal. However, mining leases are not perpetual rights. Under Ghana's mining laws, the Government of Ghana retains authority to review, renew, renegotiate, or redirect mining leases in accordance with national interest, policy direction, and regulatory considerations.

Another issue raised by Mr. Emmanuel Senyo Amekplenu concerns whether President Mahama personally recused himself from matters involving Engineers & Planners because of his relationship with Ibrahim Mahama. As of now, no publicly released constitutional finding or lawful investigative conclusion has established that President Mahama unlawfully participated in a manner violating Article 284 of the Constitution regarding conflict of interest. Therefore, fairness and constitutionalism demand that allegations alone should not be treated as established wrongdoing.

Questions have also emerged concerning President Mahama's use of a private jet allegedly owned by Ibrahim Mahama for official travel. However, private travel arrangements alone do not automatically amount to constitutional breach unless evidence establishes improper state benefit, abuse of office, unlawful influence, or financial impropriety. Again, these remain matters requiring lawful investigation and factual proof rather than political assumptions.

Sometimes, I honestly feel disappointed when I hear or see certain individuals attempting to force themselves into political relevance through petitions and allegations that appear disconnected from the broader economic and developmental priorities of the country. If indeed there are alternative Ghanaian investors with greater mining capacity than Engineers & Planners, then the conversation should rather focus on how Ghana can intentionally build multiple strong indigenous mining companies capable of competing globally and contributing significantly to national economic growth. That would be a far more productive national discussion than petitions built substantially on speculative assumptions and political sensationalism.

My humble advice to Mr. Emmanuel Senyo Amekplenu is that one should never allow political ambition or partisan interest to create the impression that Ewes or people from the Volta Region are enemies of Ghana's progress or indigenous economic advancement. As an Ewe myself, I strongly believe our people have historically contributed immensely to national development, intellectual growth, democratic governance, and public service in Ghana. We must therefore avoid creating narratives capable of projecting us as opposing indigenous Ghanaian economic empowerment simply because of political differences.

It is even more surprising considering that the petitioner is publicly associated with the NPP communication structure while key officials under the previous Akufo-Addo administration, including the former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, reportedly acknowledged that the processes leading to the eventual takeover by Engineers & Planners had already started around 2023 and 2024 during the tenure of former President Akufo-Addo.

National discourse surrounding strategic sectors such as mining should always place Ghana's long-term economic interests, indigenous participation, investor confidence, constitutional fairness, and economic empowerment above excessive partisan emotions and attempts to manufacture unnecessary public suspicion without conclusive evidence.

Ultimately, the Damang Mine transition appears to have resulted from several obvious factors including the expiration of Gold Fields' lease, government policy direction toward indigenous participation in mining, and the long-standing operational involvement of Engineers & Planners at the mine over many years.

Having carefully examined the historical background, operational facts, constitutional principles, and allegations raised publicly by Mr. Emmanuel Senyo Amekplenu, I strongly believe that the petition lacks sufficient weight to establish any obvious constitutional wrongdoing at this stage.

While CHRAJ remains one of Ghana's most respected constitutional institutions mandated to investigate matters where necessary, I respectfully submit that public discussions and petitions of this nature must equally remain grounded in evidence, fairness, due process, and objective national interest rather than political propaganda, emotions, assumptions, or speculative conclusions.

Respectfully Submitted,
Hon. Simon Yaw Awadzi
Executive Chairman
Coalition For Integrity In Governance-Ghana (COFIIG-GHANA)
cofiig@yahoo.com

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