Engineers & Planners Company Limited (E&P) and its owner, Ibrahim Mahama, are demanding a retraction and apology from policy analyst Bright Simons.

This legal battle is over Mr Simon's article criticizing Ghana’s handling of the nationalisation of the Damang gold mine.

The article titled “Ghana Provides a Lesson in How Not to Nationalise a Gold Mine” was published on April 19.

It alleged that E&P, the main mining contractor at Damang, faced financial distress due to Gold Fields’ temporary halt of mining operations, implying that the company’s influence over government decisions could lead to commercial losses for Ghana.

In a strongly worded letter from the Robert Smith Law Group, solicitors for E&P and Ibrahim Mahama, Simons was accused of making “false and malicious” claims.

The letter specifically refuted assertions that E&P’s creditors were “up in arms” and that the company was severely impacted by Gold Fields’ suspension of mining.

It also rejected insinuations that Mr Mahama leveraged political connections for unfair advantage or influenced MinComm’s policies to favor E&P.

“These unfounded publications injure the hard-earned reputation of E&P and diminish its standing with business partners and financiers,” the letter stated.

It stressed E&P’s independence from political influence and demanded an immediate retraction and apology within seven days, threatening legal action otherwise.

The article had also raised concerns about conflicts of interest within MinComm, citing former E&P and Gold Fields employees in key roles.

Mr Simons questioned whether MinComm could prioritise national interests over powerful business lobbies, drawing parallels to controversies in Ghana’s sanitation sector.