The Minority has criticised the Minerals Commission over what it describes as a “shoddy” handling of six mining lease agreements approved by Parliament on Thursday.
Ranking Member on the Lands and Natural Resources Committee, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong at a press conference in Parliament on Friday, July 31 said the agreements, including that of Damang Gold Limited, managed by Engineers and Planners, contain serious inconsistencies that warranted thorough scrutiny rather than a rushed approval.
“Parliament cannot compromise the national interest by approving defective mining leases involving Ghana’s Mineral worth without the level of scrutiny that the constitution demands.
“It appears the Mineral Commission did a shoddy job and poor diligence in ensuring that the lease documents are in proper conformity with the law and standard operating procedures.
“There were some cadastral plans that lack the mandatory signatures of the appropriate regional surveyors. These are not minor technical defects; some were not even properly signed and or with no names and endorsements,” he stated.
The Mampong MP cited missing signatures, the omission of the state’s 10% free carried interest, failure to attach mandatory working programmes, and other procedural defects as key concerns.
“Parliament cannot therefore afford to overlook inconsistencies in documents that define rights over the Republics mineral resources,” he said.
Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong further claimed that some of the mining companies failed to attach their programmes of mining operations, depriving Parliament of critical information needed to assess how this natural resource will be developed, managed and monitored over the course of lease granted.
He noted that these leases granted lack the effective scrutiny of Parliament before any ratification.
“Perhaps, more troubling was the omission in several leases of the Republic of Ghana’s statutory 10% free carried interest. Taking together, they point to unacceptable lack of assurance in agreements involving some of the country’s most valuable national asset.
“The Minority was further alarmed to note that apart from Maripoma Mining Services, almost all the companies had already commenced or continued mining operations before Parliament ratified their leases,” he added.
