Government spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu has strongly rejected allegations that President John Mahama used his office to facilitate the award of the Damang Mine lease to his brother Ibrahim Mahama’s company, Engineers & Planners (E&P), insisting instead that the President was the “biggest stumbling block” to the bid.
Speaking on Joy FM’s PM Express on Monday, the Abura Asebu-Kwamankese MP turned the narrative on its head, disclosing that President Mahama deliberately recused himself from Cabinet deliberations on the matter to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest .
“On the contrary, I will argue that the biggest obstacle to E&P taking that mine was the President,” Kwakye Ofosu stated. He revealed that when the Cabinet convened to consider the expiring Damang mining lease, the President stepped aside and allowed the Vice President to chair the crucial meeting .
According to the government spokesperson, President Mahama’s decision to recuse himself was purely ethical. “Because he believed that it was an ethical thing to do, because we did not want the situation where it would appear that he was superintending the decision-making involving an entity that his brother had an interest in,” Kwakye Ofosu explained .
Competitive Process Insisted Upon
Kwakye Ofosu further noted that far from orchestrating a behind-the-scenes deal for his brother, President Mahama remained bound by the collective decisions of a Cabinet that insisted on a competitive tender rather than a direct award.
“When the minister came, the Cabinet records will show that the Cabinet insisted that a competitive process be used to select which company gets it. The President was not part of the decision-making and did not stampede the process,” he argued .
He maintained that if the government had intended to manipulate the process, it could have handed the concession directly to Engineers & Planners without any bidding. “We could simply have handed over to E&P without any competitive process, but Cabinet insisted that the competitive process be used,” he said .
The Tender Process
The government’s defence follows the formal confirmation of Engineers & Planners Limited as the successful bidder for the Damang Gold Mine after a competitive tender conducted by the Minerals Commission .
According to the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, four companies submitted bids, but only Engineers & Planners and Heath Goldfields Limited met the mandatory requirements. Heath Goldfields failed to achieve the minimum technical score of 80%, leaving E&P as the sole qualified bidder .
The company reportedly demonstrated access to $505 million in financing from Absa Bank and Stanbic Bank, exceeding the government’s minimum threshold of $500 million, and recorded the highest combined technical and financial score of 93.15% .
Political Reactions
Kwakye Ofosu’s comments come amid allegations from the Minority in Parliament that the process was rushed and lacked transparency. The Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Lands and Natural Resources Committee, Akwasi Konadu, had earlier insisted that the process failed to meet necessary standards .
However, Kwakye Ofosu dismissed these claims, describing the Damang lease award as arguably the most competitive process for a mining concession in Ghana’s history. “The debate at Cabinet that day was rigorous. People voiced their views frankly, without fear or favour. There was no rubber-stamp decision at that place,” he stated .
He added that Parliament will still have the opportunity to scrutinise the lease agreement during the ratification stage.
