Ghanaian President John Mahama is facing allegations of favouring Engineers & Planners (E&P), a mining and construction group, over other foreign and local gold mining investors in the country’s gold-mining sector.
E&P is owned by Ibrahim Mahama, the president’s younger brother and one of Ghana’s most influential businessmen.
The controversy gained momentum in April when E&P formally took over the Damang concession, one of Ghana’s largest gold mining operations, from Gold Fields Ghana, a Johannesburg-based mining company.
The Ghanaian government was said to have received bids from local investors to take over the mine but reportedly prioritised E&P over competitors.
Opposition lawmakers petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), alleging a conflict of interest and questioning why E&P emerged ahead of other shortlisted bidders.
However, Ghana’s Minerals Commission rejected the allegations, insisting that the tender process was transparent and complied with mining regulations.
The commission said E&P had provided mining services at Damang mine since 2004 and began pursuing the concession in 2023, before the current administration assumed office.
Gold Fields also challenged the government’s decision to terminate its lease, describing it as unjust and filing arbitration claims over the matter.
E&P is also locked in a legal battle with Azumah Resources, an Australian-Ghanaian company, and INIHC, a London-based mining investor and the British subsidiary of Singapore investment group Ibaera Capital, over the Black Volta gold project, a multi-billion-dollar development regarded as one of Africa’s largest gold mines.
The dispute, which has been escalated to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), centres on competing claims over the ownership and development rights of one of Ghana’s most significant gold assets.
Ghana is Africa’s largest gold producer and one of the world’s top 10 producers, making the West African country a major destination for investment in the mining sector.
Last year, the Mahama administration introduced gold mining reforms aimed at prioritising local companies and communities.
Parts of the reforms included shorter mining licence durations for foreign companies and the mandatory allocation of mineral sales to local developmental projects.
Critics allege E&P is the only Ghanaian company to have benefitted from the changes so far in the mining regulations, an allegation the Mahama administration has rejected.
When E&P formally took over the Damang mine from Gold Fields Ghana, Ibrahim pledged major investments in the host community, including an airport, two hospitals, and sports facilities.
