Saltpond: A five-year research report tracking the impacts of lithium exploration by the Atlantic Lithium Company, in charge of the Ewoyaa Lithium mining project in Ghana, has found gross violations of farmers' rights. The abuses include the company's failure to pay due compensation to some farmers whose farmlands were invaded without prior notice, leading to crop destruction in the Mfantseman Municipality and Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District of the Central Region.
According to Ghana News Agency, the study was carried out by Friends of the Nation (FoN), a socio-environmental advocacy group. It highlighted widespread community grievances and rights infringements, particularly between 2017 and 2019, during the initial geological works. The report also mentioned inadequate compensation to some farmers and unresolved emotional and psychological impacts of the exploration phase, which caused dire socio-economic consequences for predominantly farming households.
The study was compiled by FoN in partnership with Oxfam, a global confederation of 21 independent Non-Governmental Organisations working in over 70 countries to fight inequality and poverty. The report documented setbacks and limited gains experienced by affected communities amid delays in parliamentary ratification of the lithium mining agreement.
FoN had worked with residents in the affected communities through community meetings, public education, and sustained advocacy aimed at securing fair compensation, resettlement processes, and environmental safeguards. They engaged the Community Negotiation Committees (CNC) and Community Resettlement Committee members, along with assembly and department staff, assembly members, opinion leaders, and the media.
Mr. Solomon Kusi Ampofo, Natural Resource Governance Coordinator at FoN, revealed the findings at separate validation and feedback workshops held at Afrangua and Saltpond. The report found that Atlantic Lithium excluded naturally occurring trees from compensation because they were not planted by landowners, despite many families depending on the charcoal trade with those trees.
The report stated that these omissions violated Legislative Instrument (LI) 2175 (2021), which required compensation for crops and loss of expected income. It mandated that evidence of families selling naturally occurring trees to charcoal producers be included in compensation calculations, a provision reportedly ignored in negotiations, as cited by landowners in Krampakrom.
Mr. Ampofo expressed confidence in the negotiation committees between the communities and the company, but lamented the substantial power imbalances and the vilification, intimidation, and marginalization of certain members for expressing dissenting views. He raised concerns about low women's participation in the negotiation committees, constituting less than 10 percent, and noted the removal of a female representative after disagreements in a meeting.
Despite the challenges, Mr. Ampofo commended Atlantic Lithium Company for waiting for parliamentary ratification of the lithium mining agreement before commencing mining activities. He also praised the company for engaging in meetings organized by civil society and granting FoN observer access to some committee meetings, which improved community understanding of mining. The company's investments in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives were also acknowledged.
Reacting to the report, an official with the company told the Ghana News Agency that it did not infringe on stakeholders' rights, including those of farmers and landowners. The company affirmed its commitment to community welfare and said it will continue engagement and CSR activities to sustain cordial relationships with local communities.