Parliament House
Following the delay in the approval of the lithium and bauxite mining agreements in Parliament, some chiefs in the Mfantseman Paramountcy have asked Members of Parliament (MPs) to look beyond politics and speed up the process of approving the mining license.
"Parliament needs to ratify the bill fast, and even the Minerals Commission needs to give licenses to Atlantic Lithium Limited to commence the construction and mining of lithium at Ewoyaa in the Mfantseman Municipality of the Central Region," the chiefs demanded.
Speaking to the media, the Omanhene of Nkusukum Traditional Area of Yamoransa, Nana Okese Essandoh IX commended Atlantic Lithium Company for their numerous engagements with the chiefs and people within the beneficiary areas to educate them on the positive settlement and economic impact without hiding anything from them.
"My advice and plea to politicians is that we should look beyond politics and focus on the development of Ghana. There is no doubt that Lithium mining is going to bring fortune, and as much as I agree that there is no mining without problems, with good steps, strategies, and an approach, I think we can reduce it to the barest minimum, which will be beneficial to the nation," he disclosed.
Okese Essandoh IX stressed, "For the development of mankind, this is not the first time in the history of Ghana we are going to mine, because mining started in Ghana long ago so with the Lithium coming on board, with the experience we have, we will guide us to handle Lithium well and do things right such that pre-mining, during mining and post-mining, will not be a curse instead of blessing."
He therefore called on the people within the beneficiary areas to exercise patience as the chiefs will fight for the compensation that they deserve.
The Omanhene of Abura Traditional Area of Abakrampa, Emintsinminim Otu XI also warned that the "politicization of approval of Atlantic Lithium permit is a bad aspect of it and called on Politicians to do away with the politics in the Lithium deal.
"I am pleading with them, this shouldn't be NPP and NDC but think of the region's benefit and youth as well," he urged.
According to him, the traditional rulers have agreed to allocate 1% of its revenue to a Community Development Fund that can be used to improve the living standards of the local population by investing in basic services, utilities, and social amenities.
