Wacam has intensified efforts to ensure women in communities affected by Ghana’s emerging lithium industry have a stronger voice in decisions surrounding mineral exploitation.
Under its Feminist Mining Initiative (FMI), Wacam, in collaboration with Friends of the Nation (FoN) and the Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL), has organised two grassroots forums in the Ewoyaa Lithium Project area of the Central Region.
The engagements were specifically designed to empower women to participate actively in decision-making processes affecting their communities and strengthen their understanding of mining, community and human rights.
Women From Seven Lithium Communities Engage
The forums were held at Krofu and Ewoyaa in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District on Thursday, September 3, and Friday, September 4, 2026, respectively.
About 100 community members, mainly women, participated in the engagements. They came from seven communities in the Ewoyaa Lithium Project area: Ewoyaa, Abonko, Anokyi, Afrangua, Krofu, Ansaadze and Krampakrom.
The engagements built on earlier focus group discussions that identified information gaps among women concerning land acquisition, compensation, environmental impacts, health concerns, livelihoods and participation in decision-making.
Wacam Highlights Women’s Role in Mining Decisions
Wacam Associate Executive Director, Mrs. Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, who led the discussions, educated participants on “Mining and Development,” including the potential effects and benefits of mining and the importance of land.
She stressed that women must be actively involved in decisions concerning mineral exploitation because they can be disproportionately affected by changes to land, livelihoods and community resources resulting from mining.
Wacam Technical Director, Lawyer Kwaku Afari, also took participants through their rights and how to assert them in the context of mineral exploitation, with particular emphasis on legal awareness and access to justice.
Compensation and Community Benefits Among Key Concerns
Participants raised concerns including delays in compensation payments, the moratorium on properties and the benefits communities can expect from lithium exploitation.
The forums provided an opportunity for residents to discuss these concerns while gaining practical knowledge about their rights and possible avenues for engagement.
Mining Communities Share Experiences
The programme also incorporated peer learning, with community members from Ayanfuri and Breman-Brofoyedur in the Upper Denkyira West District and Kenyasi in the Ahafo Region sharing experiences from mining operations involving Perseus Mining Ghana Limited and Newmont Ghana Gold Company Limited.
The participants shared both successes and challenges, as well as demands for more responsible mining practices in their respective communities.
For residents of the seven Ewoyaa-area communities, the exchange provided an opportunity to learn from communities that have already experienced the social and economic realities associated with large-scale mining.
Feminist Mining Initiative Seeks Stronger Community Participation
The forums form part of Wacam’s broader Feminist Mining Initiative, which seeks to strengthen community participation, improve accountability in Ghana’s critical minerals sector and ensure meaningful inclusion of women, youth and vulnerable groups in decisions concerning lithium extraction.
Wacam’s earlier work under the initiative identified gaps in women’s knowledge of land, compensation, environmental and health issues, grievance mechanisms and participation in decision-making. The organisation said those findings would guide subsequent rights training and advocacy support in the Ewoyaa area.
Ghana’s Ewoyaa Lithium Project has also reached a significant regulatory milestone. Parliament ratified the project’s Mining Lease in March 2026, making it the first lithium Mining Lease in Ghana to be both awarded and ratified.
The development makes community participation particularly significant as Ghana moves toward establishing its first lithium-producing operation.
Women Seek Greater Voice in Ghana’s Critical Minerals Future
The latest engagements reinforce calls for communities to be meaningfully involved in decisions surrounding Ghana’s critical mineral resources.
For women in the affected communities, the objective is not simply to receive information about mining, but to understand their rights, participate in negotiations and decision-making, and help shape how mineral development affects their land, livelihoods and future.
As Ghana advances the Ewoyaa project, continued community engagement will remain important to building accountability and a sustainable relationship between mining companies and host communities.
