Ghana’s May Day is a public holiday honouring workers and their contribution to the country’s development. Central Region marked the occasion by holding a unique programme of celebratory events for the community at Saltpond Victoria Park in the Mfantseman municipality.
Lithium exploration and development company Atlantic Lithium Ltd. was a proud headline sponsor of the event, demonstrating its strong commitment to local community development through employment. Atlantic Lithium is advancing the Ewoyaa Project, a significant lithium spodumene concentrate discovery on track to become Ghana’s first lithium-producing mine. Over 95 percent of the company’s employees are Ghanaian; many of which are from the Central Region.
The theme of Central Region’s 2023 May Day celebration was ‘Protecting Incomes and Pensions in an Era of Economic Crises: Our Responsibility’, which aimed to encourage an open discussion between local stakeholders and government on the mining sector’s growing contribution to the region’s development.
Atlantic Lithium is already one of the leading taxpayers and employers in the Central Region; however, the company expects to deliver many more long-standing benefits to the region as it advances the Ewoyaa Project toward production. It hopes to employ over 300 staff, mainly locals, and has stated its intention to establish a community development fund to allocate a portion of profits generated from the project to regional development initiatives.
In attendance at the event were the Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan and leaders of the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly – including the Chief Executive, Ike Lord Innu; Minister of Parliament, Ophelia Mensah Hayford; and Francis Odoom, Chairman of the occasion and Regional Chairman of the Trades Unions Congress, who praised Atlantic Lithium for playing its part in developing local skills and reducing unemployment in the region.
The municipality sees a strong role for Atlantic Lithium to further contribute to local content use, and is looking forward to government bodies and the Minerals Commission granting the mining lease Atlantic Lithium requires to move the project forward. A large contingent of Atlantic Lithium staff attended the event along with other workers from the region.
Abdul Razak, Atlantic Lithium’s In-Country Manager for Ghana, has made a firm commitment to focus on hiring locally and investing in regional development. In an interview with News Ghana he explained: “Employing and developing our workforce in the Central Region is important to us for several reasons.
“Firstly, salaries paid to workers are likely to be spent within the community, thereby benefitting not only their families but also local businesses. Secondly, it enables us build a deeper understanding and respect for local customs, values and traditions throughout our company; an ethos that is of great importance to us.
“Finally, as we are moving forward to develop Ghana’s first lithium mine, retaining our skilled workforce is key to growth of the company. Maintaining a happy and productive workforce, while assisting in improvement of the local economy, therefore aligns Atlantic Lithium with goals of the local community leaders and government bodies. Together, these put us in the best position to deliver a successful project and bring about positive change for the region.”
