Outrage As Ghana Government Just Signed Cheap Lithium Deal With Australia.

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Is it possible for African countries to break away from the resource curse? Will there ever be a time where the resources which African countries have been blessed with, will be beneficial to the African people? Will the exploitation of African resources at the detriment of the African people continue for generations to come? These are questions that should go through the minds of every African and answers should be demanded. History has shown us that whenever minerals are discovered in any African country, the next thing we hear is that so and so foreign company just signed a contract with the government to mine it. This in itself is a problem because why do African countries always need the help of a big foreign company to line their minerals? Can't it be done by the government? But this is not even a big problem. The big problem is why African governments contract with these foreign companies that are not beneficial to them as a government and then to the people.? This has been what has been happening with every successive government in African countries since Independence. The mining contract always gives more to the foreign company and peanuts to the nations. Yet this kind of contract seems to be the norm in Africa. The question is why?

The mineral in question belongs to the African people, yet these foreign companies that come to mine it are given the freedom to mine as they like, and in exchange for what? A mere 5 or 10 percent royalty paid to the government. Meanwhile, they are given tax holidays for the period they are in the country and end up taking millions and sometimes even billions of dollars out of the African country. Don't forget the fact that these foreigners also pollute the environment which they do not pay any compensation for while they are mining. So, how is any of this beneficial to the African people? Is it that the governments are so weak that they can negotiate better terms? Honestly, it seems as if the government are the ones begging these foreign companies when it should be the other way round. This is the reason why the people of Ghana are so angry with their government because once again, the government went on to sign a cheap deal with an Australian company to mine lithium, a mineral that is currently the new gold in the global market. The annoying thing is the government of Ghana had the guts to defend the contract, saying that it is the best mining contract that has ever been signed in the history of Ghana. Honestly, does the government think the people of Ghana are dumb? That statement has to be the most outrageous ever because if you take a look at the contract, you will discover that Ghana had better deals in the 1970s and 1980s. Another reason why this lithium deal is annoying is that it came at a time when some African countries made plans to protect their minerals from exploitation and gain more value from it by banning the exportation of unprocessed minerals. In addition, the world is currently pushing for green energy, and the minerals such as lithium, needed for this energy are located in Africa. This means African countries are in a better position to negotiate for deals which would benefit the country.