USD $2 Billion Bauxite Deal With China Should Be Re-negotiated

A former Chief Executive Officer of the State Enterprises Commission, Dr. Camynta Baezie, wants government to review the $2 billion bauxite agreement it had with China.

Parliament in July 2018 approved a Master Project Support Agreement facility for the construction of priority projects in Ghana by Chinese firm, SynoHydro Corporation.

The passed agreement means Ghana will leverage its bauxite reserve at Atewa forest for the amount from China.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, while presenting the mid-year budget review in Parliament, said Sinohydro Group Limited, is expected to “provide US$2 billion of infrastructure including roads, bridges, interchanges, hospitals, housing, rural electrification, in exchange for Ghana's refined bauxite.”

But Dr. Camynta Baezie believes the deal will not benefit the citizenry because it was poorly negotiated.

Speaking to Citi News after authoring an open letter to President Akuffo Addo on the matter, Dr. Baezie said the current bauxite deal is not in the interest of Ghana.

“The way the Chinese structure their things, it is always in their own interest and they never look at the interest of the other country. It's the duty of government [of Ghana] to use all its expertise to try to get the best deal for Ghana. And I'm sure if a good negotiation is done, the Chinese are not unreasonable, they will agree to it. But what we have agreed to now is not in the best interest of the country,” he added.

He said in 2010 the Energy Ministry came up with a comprehensive document on how to make monetary gains from the bauxite reserves.

To him, that document was better thought through than the recent $2 billion deal.

“…fortunately for us, in 2010, the Ministry of Energy came up with a comprehensive document of how to combine the integrated aluminum industry with other related industries in this country to create over 2.8 million jobs. To me that would have been a better deal to ensure that we create jobs out of this deal and within the four years, the tax revenue alone from the employees would have generated about 1.8 million dollars for the country,” he added.