Ghana’s Ambassador to China, Edward Boateng, has assured that due process is being followed by the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation, GIADEC, to ensure that Ghana benefits adequately from the expected bauxite mining.
Government’s plan to mine bauxite in the Atewa Forest Reserve as part of the controversial US$2 billion Sinohydro deal with China, has received a lot of backlash with environmental groups kicking against the deal due to the expected impact of bauxite mining especially in the Atewa Forest.
Seven Civil Society Organisations and some private citizens have gone ahead to sue government over the plans to mine in the Atewa Forest.
Speaking to Citi Business News on the occasion to mark 60 years of bilateral relations between Ghana and China, Mr. Edward Boateng debunked assertions that Chinese companies where being favoured when it comes to the mining of Ghana’s bauxite.
But government has explained that bauxite mining would be done responsibly, and will not cause havoc to the Atewa Forest or to the environment.
“It is important to state that Ghana’s bauxite was never given to the Chinese. GIADEC is going through its own processes, and companies from all over the world have tendered and are tendering. And some of the companies are indeed Chinese. But the whole idea on the bauxite was that we were going to develop the bauxite on our own terms and use the revenue from the bauxite to pay for the needed infrastructure project.”
“When the Synohydro deal was done, the company expressed no interest in the bauxite, but were willing to work with us as long as we could guarantee that they would be paid back from the proceeds from any bauxite we sold. And the bauxite in question could be mined by any company from anywhere in the world.”
