Former President John Mahama has pledged to adequately resource Ghana Geological Survey and other agencies to scale up exploration for other potential minerals in large quantities for commercial use.
According to the NDC 2024 candidate, Ghana is blessed with natural resources and it’s incumbent on future governments to tap them for maximum benefit, after lessons learnt from previous agreements that have not inured to the benefit of the nation.
“Resource the Geological survey to conduct explorations across entire country so that when the foreigner come for mining then we can have a good bargaining chip” he said.
Mr Mahama who was speaking at Abura Asebu Kwamankese on Day One of his tour of the Centeal region further noted… ” We don’t do the exploration ourselves and after they have done the explorations, they then apply for the mining lease and that gives us little to take home”
Per the current arrangements according to John Mahama, Ghana only enjoys only 3% of royalties which hitherto was pegged between 6-12%.
“Ghana only gets 10% free carried interest, 3% royalties and cooperate income tax of 35%” he lamented.
John Mahama assured that the next NDC government will change the narrative so posterity will be glad of the investment from minerals proceeds in their communities.
“Our youth should be able to identify a particular developmental projects gotten from these mined natural resources mined in their communities” he said.
In a brief remark, the Omahene of Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese (AAK), Okakaben Aidan Andoh X expressed worry about the high employment rate within his jurisdiction.
According to him his traditional area is endowed with natural resources including Lithium.
Government is already under pressure to abrogate the Lithium agreement with only 13% stake for Ghana, signed recently, because critics strongly believe it’s a complete rip off
