Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has stated that, despite claims that Ghana’s Lithium agreement is still beneficial, the move will be detrimental to the country in the long run.
This month, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, signed an agreement with an Australian business to mine lithium in the Central Region.
Madam Sophia Akuffo, a Distinguished Scholar at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in Accra, suggested the government should establish a local firm to mine lithium rather than allowing international companies to do so.
“Ghana Lithium Company should be established by the Republic of Ghana.” The Ghana Lithium Company should be tasked with developing the whole value chain in Ghana, from raw lithium mining to the manufacture of batteries and other products.”
“Current international best practices and a local refinery must be established before extraction commences so that there will be no excuses such as ‘we haven’t finished building the refinery, therefore, we are, as usual, exporting raw products’,” she added.
