Franklin Cudjoe demands disclosure on Damang lease

Founding President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has called on the government to publicly disclose the valuation and payment status of the Damang mining lease.

In a statement discussing the Damang lease, the Tarkwa gold transition, and funding for the Accra-Kumasi highway, Cudjoe said greater transparency was needed before any further decisions are taken on the country’s mineral assets.

He noted that the Minority in Parliament has already filed a Right to Information request seeking details of the lease and said he had also raised similar concerns with the government.

Cudjoe said three key questions remain unanswered regarding the Damang transaction.

“What is the total consideration the state is demanding for the Damang lease? Has this amount been paid? Is the Tarkwa gold operation also being considered as part of this transaction?” he asked.

He stressed that answers to those questions should be made public before the government proceeds with additional mineral-rights transactions, arguing that openness is essential to maintaining public confidence in the management of the country’s natural resources.

Reflecting on the decision-making process, Cudjoe said he had previously advised President John Dramani Mahama that the issues surrounding the Damang lease extend beyond technical and commercial considerations.

“A technically sound decision may be politically ruinous. A politically astute outcome may prove financially unviable. A commercially attractive arrangement may founder on legal process,” he stated.

According to him, government must carefully balance the technical, political, financial and legal dimensions of the transaction rather than prioritising one at the expense of the others.

He added that the planned transition involving the Tarkwa gold operation should be assessed using the same principles.

While expressing confidence in Engineering & Planning’s experience, Cudjoe said he still believes the company is capable of operating the Damang mine because of its long history of servicing the site.

He also proposed a series of measures to strengthen transparency, including the publication of the Accra-Kumasi highway feasibility and cost-saving studies within 30 days, disclosure of the Damang lease valuation and payment status before any further mineral-rights transactions, and the application of the same disclosure standards to the Tarkwa transition well before a final decision is taken.