The Institute for Energy Security (IES) has held a district stakeholder engagement to discuss findings of their recent research report on lithium mining with members of the Saltpond community in the Central region of Ghana.
This is part of efforts to promote transparency in the natural resource administration in Ghana and to ensure natural resources work to the benefit of citizens especially vulnerable and excluded populations.
The project “Avoiding the Mining Curse: Promoting efficient and sustainable lithium exploitation in Ghana’s mining sector through the adoption of best practices” is a partnership between the Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) and the IES to promote a transparent natural resource governance regime in Ghana in line with global best practices.
The district stakeholder engagement traditional leaders, assembly members, youth leaders, political party leaders, municipal heads of departments and agencies, municipal security leadership lithium mining company, community members and other development partners.
He said the engagement would help promote the socioeconomic interests of the people in Mfantsiman and called for maximum support from the people.
He further stated that the Assembly would do its part of the bargain to ensure that the interests of the people of Mfantsiman are achieved. He also urged both the farmers and landlords of the operational communities (Abonko, Anokye, Kuntu, and Ewoyaa) to continue to demand whatever compensation is rightfully theirs.
Lawyer Edmond Kombat, Director of Research and Finance at IES, in his address, commended the community members for making time out of their schedules to attend this important meeting.
In a brief welcome address, the Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Ike Lord Ennu, welcomed officials of the Institute for Energy Security and members of the house to this all-important meeting.
Lawyer Edmond hinted that the next phase of the dialogue would be an engagement with lithium mining companies in Ghana, followed by a national dialogue.
Lawyer Alhassan Iddrissu, a project consultant, outlined the purpose of the research in his presentation and called for input from the various stakeholders available to fine-tune it in the best interest of the people.
He also used the opportunity to thank the Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) for their contribution and support in this important meeting and expressed the hope that they would collaborate with IES in matters of this nature.
He stated that this was being done to avoid the incidents that bedeviled the gold mining communities so that such things would not happen in Mfanstiman. He carefully described it as the “mining curse.”
He stressed that “We are not against lithium mining, but we want it to be done responsibly, and the miners have to be educated on the need to collaborate with the community, understand their needs, and channel their CSR initiatives to address them.”
The Chiefs affirmed that they would call on the mining companies to adhere to the protocols of the land and also demand what is rightfully theirs through CSR activities. They also made calls on the government to establish processing plants to add value to the mined lithium and not repeat the mistakes made in gold production.
“We should present the best negotiators as a country so as to ensure contracts signed are favorable to the nation, which will then trickle down to citizens,” a participant added.
Nananom admonished that, as a matter of principle, the company should inform farmers, landholders, and or their representatives before any heavy machine, be it tractor or excavator, passes through their farms to avoid confrontation.
On his part, the divisional police commander called on companies coming to the Saltpond area to be vigilant and support the security agencies with the needed logistics to ensure they are able to fight criminals who will emerge when commercial production starts.
Traditional leaders and opinion leaders within the municipality and region were called upon to support the exploration of lithium in commercial quantities in a manner that would be mutually beneficial to the community and its people.
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