Kwesi Botchway writes….
The Tender for the Damang mine was opened on Tuesday, 24th March, 2026, and slammed shut by 31st March, 2026 at 4:00 pm. A mere 7 calendar days (just 5 working days) to meet some of the most onerous conditions in recent Mining history.
Among the outrageous prerequisites: Prospective Bidders had to produce evidence of access to funding in excess of USD $500 million – $600 million for Project Development.
Let’s be serious. Which credible Company can secure verifiable evidence of access to $600 million in 5 working days?
How many Banks can even process, approve, and issue Letters of Guarantee or Credit worth half a billion dollars within that window?
The Law demands a “reasonable” timeframe. Industry practice is clear. Standard Tenders take 8–16 WEEKS. Large, complex Tenders take 4–12 MONTHS or more.
For major mining projects Worldwide, Bidders need at least 6–16+ weeks to put together proper Technical and Financial Proposals.
A 7-day window for a 15 billion dollar ($15b) Mining Tender is not just unreasonable, it is illogical, arbitrary, and designed with prejudice to benefit a particular person.
As to whether or not the Tender was published for a “reasonable time” in a Newspaper of wide circulation as required by Law is another question.
This is a plain anomaly. We will be respectfully invoking the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to strike it down.
Administrative and discretionary power cannot be wielded capriciously, arbitrarily, or unfairly.
The Ghanaian deserves better. So does the Law.
Cheers
