General News of Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
A member of the Council of State, lawyer Sam Okudzeto, has kicked against the lithium deal the government is entering into with an Australian company.
The mining lease allows the Australian company to mine lithium for 5 years.
Okudzeto, joins a growing list of persons opposed to the deal and who are calling on the government to halt the agreement and take a relook at the terms.
In comments made at an event in Accra (December 12), he said it was also important for Parliament to also take steps to reflect the views of Ghanaians opposed to the deal for one reason or the other.
"The lithium agreement is not in the interest of Ghana, that is my view and if you will agree with me, then let us make a statement in support of the IEA to say that we do not think that this agreement is in the interest of Ghana," he said.
On what MPs should do, he stated: "I don’t even want to condemn our MPs, we will caution and advise them to do what is right."
The said deal is yet to be tabled before Parliament even though the government has reported signing some initial agreement with the company.
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and one of its fellows, Sophia Akuffo, a former Chief Justice, have serially exposed the inimical sides of the deal in media engagements.
The former CJ in recent comments bemoaned Ghana’s attitude towards exploiting its natural resources and how that has contributed to seeking financial assistance, especially from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Christian Council, the office of the National Chief Imam and a member of the council of state are the latest to kick against the lithium deal with Barari DV Limited urging parliament not to ratify the deal.#NewsCentral pic.twitter.com/7PGUn3ETjw
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) December 12, 2023