Mining industry pillar of international repute, Samuel Esson Jonah, the Executive Chairman of Jonah Capital, an equity fund based in Johannesburg, South Africa, is excited that a wholly-owned Ghanaian company, Engineers and Planners, has acquired an ailing large scaling mining concession, Black Volta Gold Project, from Azumah Resources Ghana without any political interference.
“Let us be clear: this is not a favour. This is not political patronage. This is not crony capitalism. The deal was signed in October 2023, with no fanfare, no interference, and no backroom dealing. It is, in every sense of the word, a commercial transaction, built on merit, backed by a strong balance sheet, and grounded in solid business fundamentals,” he defended.
Speaking as the chairman of the occasion at the $100 Million Facility Signing between Engineers & Planners and EBID at Marriot Hotel in Accra last Monday, Sir Jonah said, “For decades, I have passionately argued sometimes with frustration, always with conviction that Ghanaians must be empowered to move from the periphery to the center of the mining value chain. We cannot continue to be mere labor providers or royalty collectors while others control the equity, the strategy, and ultimately, the wealth.”
Today, he continued: I feel vindicated. Engineers & Planners, a wholly Ghanaian company, has secured a $100 million facility from the Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) to acquire the Black Volta Gold Project. This will be Ghana’s first large-scale, indigenous-owned gold mining project a long-overdue breakthrough and a powerful symbol of what is possible when vision meets courage, and ambition meets execution.
Read below Sir Samuel Esson Jonah’s full statement:
Speech by Samuel Esson Jonah, KBE OSG.
Celebration of the $100 Million Facility Signing between Engineers & Planners and EBID
I am deeply honored to serve as Chairman of this truly historic occasion one that I daresay marks a turning point in our country’s long and complex engagement with the mining industry.
Today, we are not merely here to witness the signing of a facility agreement. We are here to celebrate a milestone, affirm a vision, and embrace a bold new chapter in Ghana’s economic story led not by foreign interests, but by our own.
For decades, I have passionately argued sometimes with frustration, always with conviction that Ghanaians must be empowered to move from the periphery to the center of the mining value chain. We cannot continue to be mere labour providers or royalty collectors while others control the equity, the strategy, and ultimately, the wealth.
Today, I feel vindicated. Engineers & Planners, a wholly Ghanaian company, has secured a $100 million facility from the Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) to acquire the Black Volta Gold Project. This will be Ghana’s first large-scale, indigenous-owned gold mining project a long-overdue breakthrough and a powerful symbol of what is possible when vision meets courage, and ambition meets execution.
And this is happening at a most opportune time. President John Mahama’s government is pursuing an aggressive policy agenda aimed at promoting greater Ghanaian participation in the mining industry. The initiative by Engineers & Planners gives strong credence to the government’s commitment not just in word, but indeed. It is a practical expression of a policy vision that seeks to anchor resource nationalism in indigenous entrepreneurship.
Let us be clear: this is not a favour. This is not political patronage. This is not crony capitalism. The deal was signed in October 2023, with no fanfare, no interference, and no backroom dealing. It is, in every sense of the word, a commercial transaction, built on merit, backed by a strong balance sheet, and grounded in solid business fundamentals.
The courage and foresight of Engineers & Planners under the leadership of Ibrahim Mahama, who I first met back in 1998 when he came to seek advice about entering the mining business deserves our highest commendation. Back then, I told him and his partner, Richard Levark, that while alluvial gold mining was unlikely to yield sustainable returns, hard rock mining was the future. That young man listened. He built a company. He earned the respect of the industry. And now, he stands poised to fulfil a vision that many considered impossible. Congratulations, Ibra you have made us all proud.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The success of this deal is not just about one company. It is about national economic transformation. For far too long, the mining industry in Ghana despite its immense contribution to exports and foreign exchange has been largely disconnected from the broader economy. Why? Because the ownership has been foreign, the procurement has been offshore, and the capital goods have come from abroad. There has been little integration, weak linkages, and minimal domestic value creation.
This must change.
And the move by Engineers & Planners represents precisely the kind of change we need. When Ghanaians own the mines, when the decisions are made here, and when the value is retained within our borders, the contribution of mining to GDP, job creation, and industrial development will be significantly enhanced.
That is why I call on government not for handouts but for preferential policy treatment, for incentives, for reforms that make it easier and more attractive for Ghanaians to own, operate, and lead in this sector. Ownership matters. Equity matters. And national pride demands that we do more to ensure that our people are at the heart of our mineral wealth.
Permit me to share a brief anecdote one that is both instructive and inspiring. In the early 1990s, South Africa faced a similar conundrum: a mining sector dominated by a few powerful conglomerates, with little or no black participation. Through deliberate Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies, the South African government sought to shift this imbalance not overnight, but systematically.
From that policy emerged one of Africa’s most iconic entrepreneurs Patrice Motsepe a lawyer by training, who acquired marginal gold mines that no one else wanted and turned them into the thriving African Rainbow Minerals.
Today, he sits at the pinnacle of African enterprise not because he was given charity, but because his country had the foresight to create a framework of opportunity.
Ghana can and must do the same. Our entrepreneurs are not lacking in talent. What they often lack is access: access to capital, access to opportunity, and access to policy support. If we remove those barriers, I have no doubt that many more “Motsepes” will emerge from Ghana, blazing trails not just in mining, but across all sectors.
To EBID, I say bravo. Your decision to back this project with a substantial $100 million facility is not only a strong vote of confidence in Engineers & Planners it is a bold endorsement of indigenous entrepreneurship and a practical commitment to the economic emancipation of the ECOWAS region.
You have not only provided financing you have de-risked hope.
And I pray that other banks, DFIs, and investment partners will follow your lead.
To Engineers & Planners you are living out my dream. A dream I’ve held for decades. A dream that many believed was too ambitious. You are proof that when local talent is matched with strategic discipline and bold leadership, nothing is impossible.
As we gather to celebrate this moment, let us also reflect on the responsibilities it confers. This must be a project that sets new standards not just for profitability, but for environmental stewardship, local content, community engagement, and good governance. We must show that Ghanaian companies can compete with the very best and do so with integrity.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let this be the dawn of a new era. Let this day be remembered as the day we turned the corner from resource extraction for others to resource empowerment for ourselves. Let it mark the beginning of a national agenda to reclaim our rightful place in the mining industry not as observers, but as owners.
Let us rise as a people. Let us mine our gold and own our future.
Thank you and may God bless our efforts.
