The long-awaited mining lease agreements between the government and Ballari DV for lithium mining at Ewoya and Ashanti Bauxite Company for bauxite mining at Nyinahini were finally tabled in Parliament.
But the process did not go smoothly. The meeting was marked by heated exchanges between minority members, challenges to the decision of the Second Deputy Speaker, and the subsequent reversal of the decision by Andrew Asiamah’s boss, Alban Bagbin.
On Monday, the tableing of the two agreements was blocked by the minority due to lack of a quorum.
But today, there was no more of that impediment. But the Minority Leader, Mr. Kwame Agboza, urged the Chief, Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, to refer the matter to the Committee on Lands and Natural Resources and not to the Committee on Mines and Energy, of which John Jinapor is a senior member.
According to Senator Adakul, the request was to ensure that there was no rush.
The remarks of the Minority Leader were understood to mean that John Jinapor would be in conflict of interest if he had a say on contracts for the Ministry headed by his brother, Samuel Abu Jinapor.
But the senior member for Mines and Energy did not take these comments of the Speaker lightly and made this abundantly clear.
The second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, then referred the two contracts to the Joint Committee on Lands, Natural Resources, and Energy.
Following this development, Alhassan Sufiini, a senior deputy on the Land and Natural Resources Committee, strongly contested the decision.
When Parliament Speaker Alban Bagbin subsequently resumed his duties, the deputy’s decision was reversed and the Energy Committee was relieved of responsibility for the two agreements.
However, he appointed the Land and Natural Resources Committee, four senior members of both parties, and himself to oversee the works.
The former Nadouri-Kaleo MP also announced that he would join the discussion on the agreements, given the public interest in the issue.
Alban Bagbin urged the committee to work without pressure, as it needs to submit its report by the end of the eighth legislative period.
