Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader of Parliament
The Minority Caucus in Parliament has described the government’s decision to withdraw the lithium agreement from the House as a clear admission of policy failure, accusing officials of mishandling a strategic national asset and attempting to evade scrutiny after publicly defending the deal.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament while assessing the performance of the NDC government in its first year in office, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the withdrawal exposes a pattern of poor preparation and inconsistency.
According to him, government officials attempted to push through an agreement they could not adequately justify, only to retreat when public and parliamentary pressure mounted.
Afenyo-Markin said the government’s posture on the lithium agreement has been contradictory from the outset.
He noted that while in opposition, the governing party criticised an earlier version of the deal, but upon assuming office, returned with a new arrangement which, he argued, was weaker and offered Ghana less protection and value.
The Minority Caucus said what makes the episode particularly troubling is that the Majority side strongly defended the agreement on the floor of Parliament, projecting confidence and insisting the deal was sound, only to later withdraw it on the grounds that further consultation was required.
“To us, that sequence is not consultation; it is confusion,” Afenyo-Markin said.
The minority further alleged that following intense public and parliamentary pressure on the sector minister and the government, officials “came through the back door” to withdraw the agreement an approach they said reflects a lack of transparency and respect for Parliament.
They questioned why a government that claimed to believe in the agreement’s merits would be unable to proceed with open and credible justification.
According to the caucus, the withdrawal raises serious concerns about whether due diligence was conducted, whether the terms were properly negotiated, and whether the national interest was truly prioritised.
“This is how countries get short-changed,” the Minority warned, stressing that critical mineral agreements require discipline, coherence and a clear policy framework not trial and-error decision-making.
They emphasised that lithium and other strategic minerals are not ordinary resources and must be governed by strong national safeguards, including transparency, value for money, local content, environmental standards and long-term industrial planning, rather than short-term deal-making.
The Minority said the episode should serve as a warning to both Parliament and the public that extractive agreements must be subjected to stricter scrutiny, particularly those involving critical minerals that could shape Ghana’s industrial future.
They pledged to demand tougher oversight, insisting that any reintroduced agreement must come with clear explanations, improved terms and full transparency, warning that Parliament should not be reduced to a rubber stamp for poorly prepared policies.
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Source:
www.ghanaweb.com
