Government Spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu has dismissed claims that President John Dramani Mahama influenced the award of the Damang Mining Lease to Engineers & Planners (E&P), a company owned by his brother, Ibrahim Mahama.
According to Mr Kwakye Ofosu, the President was rather the biggest stumbling block to the company’s bid for the concession.
Speaking on PM Express on Monday with host Evans Mensah, the Abura Asebu-Kwamankese MP said President Mahama deliberately recused himself from Cabinet discussions on the matter to avoid any perception of conflict of interest.
“On the contrary, I will argue that the biggest obstacle to E&P taking that mine was the President,” he said.
Mr Kwakye Ofosu explained that when the Lands and Natural Resources Minister presented the issue of the expiring Damang mining lease to Cabinet, the President stepped aside and allowed the Vice President to chair the meeting.
“At the Cabinet meeting that considered that particular matter of the Damang mining lease, the President recused himself. He did not sit in that meeting… because he believed that it was an ethical thing to do,” he added.
He noted that Cabinet rejected a direct allocation of the lease and instead insisted on a competitive bidding process.
“I think we will struggle to find an instance where a competitive process has been used to award the lease of a mining concession in Ghana,” Mr Kwakye Ofosu stated. “Cabinet insisted that a competitive process be used to select which company gets it.”
The government spokesperson stressed that President Mahama repeatedly recused himself whenever the Damang issue came up for discussion and was not part of the final decision.
“The President was not part of the decision-making and did not stampede the process… We could simply have handed over to E&P without any competitive process, but Cabinet insisted that the competitive process be used,” he emphasised.
He added that the evaluation committee publicly accounted for its decisions, explaining why some companies succeeded and others failed. Parliament will also have the opportunity to scrutinise the lease agreement during ratification.
Mr Kwakye Ofosu described the Cabinet deliberations as robust and frank, with ministers freely expressing divergent views.
“The debate at Cabinet that day was rigorous. People voiced their views frankly, without fear or favour. There was no rubber-stamp decision,” he said.
He concluded that if anyone claims the President handed over the mine to his brother, “I would even agree that the President was the biggest stumbling block to E&P’s acquisition of the Damang Mine.”