Lands and Natural Resources Committee of Parliament to Hold Second Stakeholder Forum on Ghana’s Lithium Agreement
Lands and Natural Resources Committee of Parliament to Hold Second Stakeholder Forum on Ghana’s Lithium Agreement
Member of Parliament for Asutifi South Constituency in the Ahafo region and Chairman of the Lands and Natural Resources Committee, Alhaji Collins Dauda, has hinted that his committee will conduct a public hearing as part of its consideration of a mining lease agreement between the Government of Ghana and Barari DV Limited on lithium at Ewoyaa in the Mfansteman district.
According to Alhaji Dauda, the committee arrived at the decision to open up its deliberations following demands by a section of the public on the royalty rate to be paid by the company.
According to him, the immediate-past Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, who initially presented the agreement on 16 July 2024, negotiated a ten percent mineral royalty against the stated provisions in the Minerals and Mining Act of 2006 and its subsequent amendment of section 25 of Act 703.
“During the consideration of the agreement, two important issues came up; one was legal, and the other was unfair treatment in the market. In the agreement that was referred to us, we noticed that the royalty rate was 10 percent, even though committee members wanted the government to rake in more revenue.
We knew the 10 percent was going to rake in more revenue as compared to the 5 percent. But we have a challenge, the challenge being that Parliament enacted the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006, and subsequently amended the Act in section 25,” he noted.
Alhaji Dauda, addressing some members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC), at a media briefing in Accra, dismissed an assertion that the then minority rejected the said agreement, noting that a call to public memoranda on the present referral was announced from 13-27 November, after which stakeholders will be invited to assist the Committee with its deliberations.
“We will not ratify until we have had extensive engagement with the relevant stakeholders and reminded the Lands and Natural Resources Minister to submit an amendment to the current royalty regime for the committee’s deliberation together with the lithium agreement.” He said.
The lithium agreement was again presented in Parliament on Tuesday, 11 November 2025, by the current Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, under revised terms which reduced the royalty from 10 percent as previously negotiated by Samuel Jinapor to 5 percent.
Mr. Buah (MP, Ellembele) explained on the debating floor that, global price of lithium has fallen from $3,000 in 2024 to around $630 a tonne, which meant Barari DV would not be able to meet its revenue target, therefore creating operational difficulties for the company as global lithium demand falls.
The Committee, at its September 2024 stakeholder engagement, when the agreement was first referred to it, heard varying opinions from civil society to the chiefs and people of Ewoyaa, where the lithium project has been sited, but the agreement never went back to the House as the term of the Eighth Parliament ended.
