The Minority Caucus on Parliament’s Lands and Natural Resource Committee has expressed its disappointment over the ratification of six mining lease agreement with four mining companies on Thursday.
The companies are Golden Star Wassa Limited at Wassa Akyempem in the Western Region, Maripoma Mining Services Limited at Zongoiri in the Upper East Region, Perseus Mining Limited at Ayamfuri and Nanankaw-Agyakusu in the Central and Western regions and Damang Gold Mine Limited at Damang in the Western Region.
Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Friday, the Ranking Member on the Committee, Mr Kwaku Ampratwum Sarpong noted that they identified a number of defects in the agreements, including the quality, completeness and legality of the documentations presented to Parliament.
Other defects identified by the Committee, Mr Sarpong said, were the lack of mandatory signature by Regional Surveyors of some cadastral plans, lease documents that bear signatures without the names of persons executing them, and the non-attachment of Programmes of Mining Operations to lease documents.
Also, he noted that there was an omission of the statutory 10 per cent free carried interest in the six mining lease agreements ratified by Parliament.
Mr Sarpong cautioned against the mining of natural resources by mining companies before parliamentary ratification, noting that such a practice raised constitutional concerns.
“Article 268(1) of the Constitution requires parliamentary ratification of mining agreements. The Supreme Court has affirmed that this constitutional requirement is mandatory. Parliamentary approval cannot become a mere formality after companies have already begun extracting Ghana’s mineral wealth,” Mr Sarpong.
Moreover, he noted that the ratification of the Damang Gold Mine Limited required the highest level of scrutiny due to public interest, adding that the Minority was supposed to have been furnished with all relevant information, including the Minerals Commission’s Tender Committee Report.
Mr Sarpong indicated that he had formally requested documents and information from the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Armah Kofi-Buah, on the Damang mining lease agreement awarded to Damang Gold Mine Limited.
He further noted that the Parliament’s Land and Natural Resources Committee report on the mining lease agreements did not reflect the concerns raised by the Minority Caucus.
“That is not how parliamentary oversight should function. Parliamentary committees exist to interrogate, test and improve agreements placed before Parliament, not merely to facilitate their passage,” Mr Sarpong said.
“Every company seeking to exploit the mineral resources of this Republic has a duty to comply fully with the Constitution, the Minerals and Mining Act, and all applicable regulatory requirements,” he added.
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
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