In another development, the Minority has described the government’s decision to withdraw the lithium agreement from the House as an obvious admission of policy failure.
It accused government officials of mishandling a strategic national asset and attempting to escape scrutiny after publicly defending the deal.
Minority Leader Osahen Afenyo-Markin said the withdrawal of the lithium agreement exposes a pattern of poor preparation and inconsistency, arguing that government officials attempted to push an agreement they could not adequately justify, only to retreat when pressure mounted.
According to the Minority, the government’s posture on the lithium deal has been contradictory from the start.
Osahen Afenyo-Markin said the NDC, while in opposition, criticised an earlier version of the agreement, but after taking office returned with a new arrangement which is worse and offers Ghana less protection and value.
He said what makes the episode more troubling is that the Majority side defended the new agreement on the floor of Parliament, projecting confidence and insisting the deal was sound, but later turned around and withdrew it, claiming the new lithium agreement now requires further consultation.
The Minority noted that after intense public and parliamentary pressure on the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, and government officials “came through the back door” to withdraw the agreement— an approach they averred reflects a lack of transparency and respect for Parliament.
The Minority questioned how a government that believed in the merits of the agreement is unable to proceed with open and credible justification.
To the Minority, the withdrawal raises serious concerns about “whether due diligence was done; whether the terms were properly negotiated, and whether the national interest was truly prioritised”.
“This is how countries get short-changed,” the caucus warned, arguing that critical mineral agreements require discipline, coherence, and a clear policy framework— not trial-and-error decision-making.
The Minority said the episode should serve as a warning to Parliament and the public that extractive agreements must face stricter scrutiny, especially those tied to critical minerals that could shape Ghana’s industrial future.
