A civil society organisation has congratulated Ibrahim Mahama on the takeover of the Damang Gold Mine and used the occasion to call for a national rethink on how Ghana treats its homegrown entrepreneurs.
The Media Coalition for Good Governance (MCGG) extended congratulations to Mahama, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Engineers and Planners Limited (E&P), following the formal handover of the mine at a ceremony on Saturday, April 18, 2026, where Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah performed the symbolic transfer.
The Coalition said it welcomed the commitments Mahama made at the ceremony, which included plans to construct an airport within six months, establish two hospitals, and develop sports facilities across Damang and surrounding communities. Mahama told residents the plans were not aspirational: “This is not political talk; this is real talk. We are looking to put two big hospitals in Damang. Whatever money we make from here, we will reinvest it here.”
MCGG said it would actively monitor the progress of those pledges to ensure accountability to the people of the area.
Beyond the immediate celebration, however, the Coalition turned its attention to what it described as a persistent threat to national development: the targeting of indigenous businesses along political lines. The group argued that successive political transitions in Ghana had too often been accompanied by the deliberate weakening of enterprises perceived to be aligned with the outgoing administration, a pattern it said discourages innovation, limits wealth creation and costs citizens jobs.
The statement pointed to the broader private sector landscape, citing entrepreneurs including Paa Kwesi Nduom, Osei Kwame Despite, Togbe Afede XIV, Kwesi Twum, and several other business leaders as examples of the kind of visionary enterprise Ghana should protect and nurture regardless of political affiliation.
The political dimension surrounding the Damang handover has drawn scrutiny, given that E&P is owned by Ibrahim Mahama, younger brother of President John Dramani Mahama. The Minerals Commission has rejected allegations of bias, describing the tender process as transparent, competitive, and fully grounded in Ghana’s mining regulations.
MCGG called on government, political actors, civil society and the private sector to work collaboratively in building an environment where Ghanaian businesses can grow without fear of political interference, stating that narratives built on defamation and political bias only serve to discourage ambition and slow national progress.
The Coalition is convened by Kwadwo Baffour and Sampson Kumah.
