The Member of Parliament for Mfantseman, Dr. Ebenezer Prince Arhin, has called on Atlantic Lithium to prioritise the employment of residents of Mfantseman in the upcoming Ewoyaa Lithium Project, insistingthat the community has the skills and manpower needed to support operations.

He made the appeal at the Grand Durbar of the Odambea Festival of the Nkusukum Traditional Area in the Central Region, where he reaffirmed Parliament’s commitment to approving the project before the end of 2025.

“I remember I promised the people of Mfantseman that when I become your MP, I will not keep quiet. The lithium project is a very important initiative to us. When the Ewoyaa Lithium Project starts, it will create jobs for many people in Mfantseman,” Dr. Arhin said.

According to him, Cabinet has already given the green light for the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to engage Atlantic Lithium (Barari DV Ghana Limited) and finalise all outstanding processes.

“I am very humble, yet happy, to announce to you - the chiefs and people of Nkusukum - that when the Leader of Government Business spoke on the day Parliament resumed sitting, it became clear that before the year ends, Parliament will ratify the Ewoyaa Lithium Project, which is located in Mfantseman,” the MP assured.

Dr. Arhin further urged the mining company to make job creation for local residents a priority once operations commence.

“Atlantic Lithium, we will give you the necessary support to begin mining so that my people here in Mfantseman can get decent jobs to do. I want to make this statement strongly, especially in the presence of Atlantic Lithium, that the majority of people to be employed at the Ewoyaa Lithium Project must come from Mfantseman,” he stressed.

The legislator noted that the constituency has a capable workforce ready to take on various roles within the project.

“If you need people to drive excavators, we have the youth here who can do the job. If you need people to sell around the project, we have them here. If you need drivers or secretaries, remember our people are here,” he emphasised.

It has been exactly two years since the Government of Ghana granted a 15-year mining lease to Atlantic Lithium for the Ewoyaa Lithium Project, located within the Mfantseman Municipality and the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankesse Districts of the Central Region.

Initially signed on October 19, 2023, the lease was celebrated as Ghana’s entry into the global lithium market. Then Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor, described it as a “model agreement” for critical mineral development.

Under the deal, the government secured a 19 percent equity stake - comprising a 13 percent free carried interest and an additional 6 percent through the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF). The agreement also increased royalties from 5 to 10 percent, mandated a local stock exchange listing, and established a Community Development Fund to channel 1 percent of annual revenues into local projects.

The project was projected to create over 1,200 jobs during construction and deliver major economic benefits to host communities. However, the lease remains unratified by Parliament, a constitutional requirement under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703) - leaving the project in regulatory limbo.

In the two years since, global market conditions have deteriorated sharply. The price of spodumene, the project’s key lithium-bearing mineral, has plunged from about US$3,000 per tonne at the time of signing to around US$850 per tonne.

Responding to concerns in Parliament in July 2025, Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah disclosed that government was reviewing the lease terms to protect national interests and ensure project viability amid volatile global prices. The review, he said, would also address issues of transparency, fairness, and equitable benefit-sharing raised by civil society and parliamentary committees.

Despite these assurances, progress has remained slow. Some staff have been laid off as the company awaits final ratification. Meanwhile, neighbouring Mali has surged ahead, bringing two lithium projects into production within the same period - raising fears that Ghana may be losing momentum in the global energy transition race.

For residents of Mfantseman, however, hope remains alive. With Parliament’s approval anticipated before year-end, community leaders and the MP are urging government and the mining company to ensure that the economic promise of Ghana’s first lithium project directly benefits the people who call Ewoyaa home.