A renowned broadcast journalist and host of Dwaso Nsem on Adom FM, Mr Omanhene Kwabena Asante, has descended heavily on the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah, accusing him of blatant discrimination and selective application of policy in the allocation and termination of mining concessions.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen programme, the outspoken journalist described as “deeply troubling and indefensible” what he termed a pattern of calculated decisions that appear to favour politically connected individuals under the guise of promoting indigenous Ghanaian participation in the mining sector.
He argued that the government justified the abrogation of the Damang Goldfields contract on the basis of local participation and subsequently reassigned the concession to Ibrahim Mahama’s company, Engineers and Planners.
He said as he supports Ibrahim Mahama’s company taking over the Damang Mine, the GIADEC CEO should also allow a local company, Rocksure International, that also acquired a bauxite lease to do its business.
GIADEC cancelled a $1.2 billion bauxite lease with local firm Rocksure International and its partners in 2025, in violation of the government’s own agenda to promote local businesses in the country.
Rocksure’s lease covered the Nyinahin Hills in central Ghana, home to about 376 million tons of bauxite, the feedstock for aluminum.
Omanhene claimed the bauxite concession will probably be given to a foreign company or another local company through cronyism.
He reiterated his call on GIADEC to reconsider its decision and handover the bauxite to the fully Ghanaian-owned company Rockshure International.
The company, according to information gathered, is owned by Ghanaian businessman Isaac Ofori Poku.
In a sharply worded appeal, he called on the GIADEC CEO to “immediately reverse what can only be described as dubious and self-serving decisions” and restore the concessions to what he termed their “rightful custodians.”
“We all applauded when the government moved to take over a foreign-managed concession in the name of empowering Ghanaians. But how do you justify taking from a Ghanaian and handing it to a foreigner or another Ghanaian?” he quizzed.
He cautioned that failure to address these concerns promptly could deepen perceptions of cronyism and unfair competition within Ghana’s extractive sector.
Mr Omanhene Asante urged authorities to uphold transparency, equity, and due process in all concession-related decisions.
