Lands Minister meets CSOs on new lithium agreement

Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, has engaged in discussions with civil society organisations (CSOs) to enhance Ghana’s lithium agreement, recently retracted from Parliament.

During the meeting on Monday, December 13, 2025, the Minister detailed the government’s stance on the agreement and presented a revised policy direction for lithium exploration and development, subsequent to the recall of the deal the previous week.

Mr. Buah underscored that the government is dedicated to reaching an agreement that provides optimal advantages for the people of Ewoyaa, the host community, and the nation at large. He thus urged CSOs to offer honest and constructive input to enhance the framework of a new agreement between the Government of Ghana and Barari DV, Atlantic Lithium’s local subsidiary.

Participants from the invited CSOs provided in-depth input, concentrating on important matters like Ghana’s royalty interests, equity involvement, environmental safeguarding, and community enhancement.

The Minister recognized the inputs covering financial, sustainability, gender, health, and safety issues and guaranteed stakeholders that the government would integrate the pertinent concerns and suggestions into the updated agreement.

Dr. Steve Manteaw, a participant, praised the Minister for promoting inclusive stakeholder participation in managing Ghana’s natural resources.

In the same vein, Benjamin Nsiah, a policy analyst and researcher at the Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy (CEMSE), commended the initiative and urged the government to maintain wide-ranging consultations during the process

On his part, the Country Manager of Atlantic Lithium, Ahmed Salim, who also joined the discussion, welcomed the views and criticisms from the various participants and called for more cooperation in the drafting of a new agreement.

Speaking at the end of the engagement, the Lands Minister reassured that the Ministry will continue to engage more stakeholders towards the conclusion of a new deal, adding that his doors remain open to further interactions on the subject matter.

Meanwhile, a series of other engagements are also in the pipeline as part of government’s commitment to harvest more inputs in making Ghana’s lithium discovery a blessing to all, the Minister revealed.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com