By Sarah Adwoa Akuetteh:

Atlantic Lithium Ghana Limited says it remains committed to prioritising local employment at its Ewoyaa Lithium Project in the Mfantseman Municipality as the company edges closer to the final stages of regulatory approvals.

Speaking on the sidelines of the October session of the African Extractive Media Fellowship training in Accra, the company’s General Manager, Ahmed Salim, disclosed that as of October 2024, the project had a workforce of about 100 people, but the number currently stands at 67. He attributed the adjustment to the evolving stages of project development.

According to Mr. Salim, Atlantic Lithium has so far invested more than GH¢68 million in project development, reaffirming its commitment to ensuring that the residents of Ewoyaa and surrounding communities benefit directly from employment opportunities once full operations commence.

“Our primary objective is to ensure that the local communities are the first to benefit when the mine becomes operational. Employment creation for residents remains a top priority,” he said.

His remarks come after the Member of Parliament for Mfantseman, Dr. Ebenezer Prince Arhin, called on the company to prioritise the hiring of local residents in its workforce plans.

Although the company is yet to begin full-scale operations, Mr. Salim revealed that Atlantic Lithium has already started contributing to national revenue through taxes. In 2024 alone, the firm paid about GH¢19.63 million in taxes, including GH¢11.37 million in Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE), GH¢4.34 million in annual mineral rights, GH¢3.45 million in withholding tax, and GH¢458,000 in annual ground rent.

“We have not yet started production, but we are already paying our fair share of taxes. Once we begin production and make profit, we will start paying dividends,” Mr. Salim explained.

The Ewoyaa project, located near Saltpond in the Central Region, is Ghana’s first major lithium mining initiative a development seen as crucial to positioning the country as a key player in the global electric vehicle and battery value chain.

Currently, the project has received several regulatory approvals including the Environmental Permit, Mine Operating Permit, Water Use Permit, and Land Use Change Certificate. However, Parliamentary ratification of the mining lease remains outstanding.

The company has outlined its next key priorities, which include securing parliamentary ratification, finalising a Strategic Project Investment with the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), making a Final Investment Decision (FID), and commencing land compensation and ground-breaking activities.

Mr. Salim expressed optimism that the long-awaited parliamentary approval would be secured before the end of the year, paving the way for construction to begin.

“We are hopeful that once ratification is achieved, we can move quickly to begin land compensation and ultimately break ground,” he noted.

If approved, the Ewoyaa Lithium Project is expected to generate significant employment opportunities, boost local infrastructure, and contribute to Ghana’s ambition of becoming a key hub for battery minerals in West Africa.

President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana and French President Emmanuel Macron held extensive bilateral talks at the Élysée Palace on Thursday, discussing security cooperation, economic development, and regional stability on the sidelines of the 2025 Paris Peace Forum.

The meeting opened on a solemn note, with President Macron offering condolences for the recent passing of Ghana’s former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings.

Both leaders praised the Paris Peace Initiative and the strengthening of relations between Ghana and France. A key focus of the talks was Ghana’s request for French assistance in combating piracy in its territorial waters. President Mahama sought support to protect Ghana’s maritime integrity from increasing piratical threats in the Gulf of Guinea.

The two leaders also discussed a French concessionary loan for Ghana’s health sector that is awaiting parliamentary approval. President Mahama asked his French counterpart to use his influence with the International Monetary Fund to secure Ghana’s access to the facility from the French Development Bank, noting Ghana’s improved debt-to-GDP ratio.

President Mahama, in his capacity as the African Union (AU) Champion of African Financial Institutions, advocated for collaboration to renegotiate loan agreements with lower interest rates for infrastructure projects.

He emphasised Ghana’s role as home to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat and the need for enhanced road infrastructure to facilitate intra-African trade.

The Mahama highlighted Ghana’s ambitious one-million-coders programme, which has already registered 200,000 students. He requested French support to train additional French language teachers to improve language education in Ghanaian schools.

President Macron noted several upcoming opportunities for collaboration, including the VivaTech Summit in Nairobi in May 2026, where Ghana could showcase its digital innovation capabilities, the African Union-European Union summit in Angola, and the June 2026 G7 summit, where France would advocate for increased support for Ghana.

President Mahama raised the subject of reparations for slavery, which Ghana is currently championing. President Macron pledged support for the initiative, noting that France had criminalised slavery, while cautioning that the reparations discussion should acknowledge the involvement of various actors beyond Western powers.

The leaders discussed the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel region, particularly terrorist incursions in Mali and other countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

President Macron commended President Mahama’s leadership in the subregion, and Ghana’s economic reforms, pledging continued French support for Ghana’s development agenda.

President John Dramani Mahama has announced that, Ghana will become the first African country to make a financial contribution to the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) — a move that underscores the country’s commitment to promoting press freedom, transparency, and the integrity of information.

Announcing the decision at the Paris Peace Forum, 2025, President John Dramani Mahama said the contribution demonstrates Ghana’s conviction that a free and independent media is vital to the survival of democracy and good governance.

The President emphasized that the contribution is not only symbolic but represents Ghana’s determination to take tangible action in defending truth, sustaining trust, and supporting independent journalism worldwide.

President Mahama’s announcement comes amid renewed global efforts to bolster independent media, with the IFPIM targeting €130 million between 2026 and 2028 to support journalism that serves the public interest.

President Mahama noted that the fight against misinformation and disinformation has become one of the defining challenges of the modern era, warning that falsehoods are increasingly shaping elections, distorting public health responses, and undermining global efforts against climate change.

“Disinformation is not an abstract issue,” he cautioned. “It fuels conflict, erodes public confidence in science and governance, and weakens democracy itself.”

He also called on other nations to follow Ghana’s example in treating the defense of truth as a shared global responsibility, mentioned that, the world must invest in truth as deliberately as it invests in infrastructure, energy, or defense.