The outgoing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Asante Akim North, Andy Appiah-Kubi, has called on the President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, to establish a committee to investigate the allocation and distribution of public lands and also review natural resource contracts under the management of Ministry for Lands and Natural Resources, led by Samuel Abu Jinapor.
“I request the setting up of a committee to investigate all public lands and their distribution. And again, I want us to review all natural resource contracts in Ghana,” he stated on GHOne TV.
This comes amid the dispute between Blue Gold, a leading British mining company, which is operating the Bogoso Prestea Mines in Ghana and the Akufo-Addo government, regarding the purported reassignment of mining licenses to a local Ghanaian company.
Blue Gold, has threatened to initiate international arbitration proceedings pursuant to Article 10 of the UK-Ghana BIT, if the dispute is not resolved by January 14, 2025.
Andy Appiah-Kubi, critiqued the issues surrounding public resource management.
“Sometimes it’s not just about the clearance; it’s about the philosophy of living. We have established a philosophy. It may not necessarily mean putting someone in opposition or government, but people become too pompous with power and misapply or misuse public space, funds, and property. Let’s move away from such behaviour,” he said.
Mr Appiah-Kubi, emphasized the importance of integrity in leadership and the need to discourage the culture of exploiting public office for personal gain.
“We don’t make money in government; let’s make money in the private sector,” he remarked.
In addition, Appiah-Kubi, proposed a comprehensive review of all natural resource contracts in Ghana.
He underscored the urgency of this measure by highlighting the nation’s missed opportunities due to poor resource management.
“The way to get out of poverty is to look back at what we are losing, stop the looting, and benefit from our resources. How can you expect a country to be resourceful when you’re giving away our resources for free?” he questioned.
Blue Gold, with plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange, is embroiled in a heated dispute with Ghana’s Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources over the alleged illegal reassignment of mining licenses.
Despite Blue Gold providing proof of substantial financial backing, including definitive documentation from investors demonstrating over US$100 million in daily liquidity, the Minerals Commission and the outgoing Natural Resources Minister, have reportedly refused to consider the company’s existing licenses or review its documentation.
Instead, they are moving to reassign the licenses to Heath Goldfield Limited (HGL)—a company with no mining experience, and a share capital of only 10,000 cedis.
Interestingly, the deal is being hatched with some National Democratic Congress (NDC) elements who want to take advantage of the incoming John Mahama administration and plunge the country into an international legal battle.
Heath Goldfields Limited (HGL), has been linked to the family of a former Ghanaian Finance Minister and has also been associated with Yıldırım Holding, a family-owned conglomerate headquartered in Turkey with companies in coal mining and shipping.
The Minerals Commission, held a board meeting Wednesday, 11th December 2024, and plans to transfer the mines to Heath Goldfields Limited (HGL) and their Turkish partners, Yıldırım Holding by 12th December 2024, long before the new Mahama government takes office on January 7, 2025.
Critics argue that, this move is illegal and politically motivated. Under Ghanaian law, any new mining licenses must be ratified by Parliament to be enforceable.
However, with the current Parliament nearing its end, and an anticipated shift in political power to an NDC-dominated legislature, there is little chance such a decision would gain approval.
This has raised concerns that the outgoing NPP administration is using its remaining time in office to push through dubious deals benefitting party insiders.
Legal battles are already underway. Kimathi & Partners, acting on behalf of Blue Gold, is to file for an injunction to prevent the Ministry from issuing any new leases.
Additionally, Heath Goldfield Limited has been separately injuncted by Mayer Brown. Blue Gold has vowed to pursue international arbitration under the Bilateral Investment Treaty in the UK, to ensure its existing leases remain intact and effective.
The ongoing dispute has left the mine non-operational for three months, with the Minerals Commission failing to generate revenue or maintain the site.
The Asante Akim North legislator, also insisted that President Akufo-Addo, can be blamed partly for the defeat of the governing NPP in the just-ended General Elections.
The Electoral Commission, declared Mahama as President-elect with 6,328,397 votes, representing 56.55% of the valid votes cast.
The former President defeated his main rival, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of the NPP, who secured 4,657,304 votes, representing 41.61%.
The NPP, also lost a number of seats in Ghana’s Parliament with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) winning over 180 seats in the Parliamentary elections.
The lawmaker stated that, President Akufo-Addo, could be blamed for his actions or inaction as President in fixing Ghana’s economy.
“We lost because of the government and how they handled the economy so I will not personalize. But in a particular case I was part of the group that said this person is not meeting our expectations so let’s change him. So in that case I will come out to say that he is partly to blame for what he did or didn’t do.
“But beyond that, I will say that our government did not respond to the expectations of the people”, he added.
