Sophia Akuffo, Former Chief Justice

Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has criticized Ghana’s recent Lithium lease agreement, arguing that it bears striking similarities to the colonial-era agreements, often referred to as the ‘Guggisberg model,’ which historically yielded limited benefits to the country.

In an address at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in Accra on November 28, 2023, she emphasized that traditional colonial agreements have failed to contribute substantially to the overall well-being of the average Ghanaian.

“It is not different in principle in the substance from any of Ghana’s previous colonial times types of agreements, some call it the Guggisberg model, whatever description, all those agreements are colonial type of agreements, which over the years have yielded very little good to the overall benefit of the average Ghanaian.

“In modern best practices the exploitation or extraction of mineral resources discovered by either a joint venture agreement whereby the host country takes an agreed ownership in the mining company or a service contract whereby the host country is the owner, contracts the mining company and the mining company can be selected through transparent competitive bidding process to mine the mineral and to reinvest for its cost of reduction plus profit margin so that the mining company is in contract to the owner. The ownership of the mining remains completely in the hands of the state,” 3news.com quoted her to have said.

She highlighted alternative approaches such as joint venture agreements or service contracts, where the host country maintains ownership or contracts mining companies through transparent competitive bidding processes.

Ghana recently granted a 15-year mining lease to Barari DV Ghana Limited a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium Limited for lithium extraction in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region.

The lease includes enhanced terms aimed at ensuring optimal benefits for the country, such as increased royalty rates, state, and Ghanaian participation, and value addition to the mined mineral.

AM/DO

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