The Member of Parliament (MP) for Akwatia, Bernard Bediako Baidoo, has defended the government’s decision to award the Damang Mining Lease to Engineers and Planners Ltd (E&P), arguing that critics conflating the company with its associated individuals are misapplying basic principles of company law.
Speaking on Joy Prime’s AM Show on Wednesday, Bediako Baidoo, who is a lawyer, said the public must appreciate the legal distinction between a company and the natural persons connected to it.
“E&P is not a person. If you understand basic company law, you will know that a company is not a person in the ordinary sense. It is only when the court orders the lifting of the corporate veil that you begin to identify individuals behind it,” he said.
He added that neither directors nor shareholders are legally identical to the company itself, and that treating the two as interchangeable was being done for political rather than legal reasons.
The MP’s comments are directed at critics who have raised concerns about the award of the Damang Mining Lease to E&P on the grounds that the company is associated with businessman Ibrahim Mahama, younger brother of President John Dramani Mahama. The parliamentary minority has announced plans to petition the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) over the process, and the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) has separately called for the full assessment report to be published.
Bediako Baidoo rejected suggestions that the lease award represented state capture or favouritism, arguing that E&P’s presence in Ghana’s mining sector long predated the current administration.
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources approved the award of the Damang Mining Lease to E&P on April 7, 2026, following a competitive tender evaluated by a specialised Tender Committee under the Minerals and Mining (Licensing) Regulations, 2012 (LI 2176). Four companies submitted bids by the March 31 deadline, but two, Maripoma Mining Services Ltd and Vortex Resources Mining Group, were disqualified at the mandatory compliance stage for failing to provide complete tax, Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), and value added tax (VAT) clearances. The remaining contender, Heath Goldfields Ltd, failed to meet the minimum technical score of 80 percent.
According to the Tender Committee, E&P was the only bidder to fully satisfy the financial requirements, providing documentary evidence of access to financing meeting the USD 500 million minimum threshold. The committee concluded that the company demonstrated the highest capability to operate the mine, supported by the most viable tender.
The Minerals Commission has been directed to complete all regulatory steps necessary to formalise the lease and facilitate an orderly transition. Gold Fields is scheduled to transfer operational control of the Damang Mine to the government on April 18, 2026.
