Another GBC Journalist has been nominated for the prestigious Ghana Energy Awards scheduled for 19th November, 2021.
Kingsley Nana Buadu, GBC’s Central Regional Correspondent, is among six other Journalists including his colleague, Rebecca Awuah, nominated for the most competitive Ghana Energy Awards in the category of ”Best Energy Reporter of the Year”.
” I am a self-motivated and results-oriented Journalist whose focus has always been getting the job done and contributing to society positively”, according to the Regional News Editor.
Kingsley is a Communication Professional with interest in Environmental and Climate Change, Transparency and Accountability issues.
He also has interest in the Extractives, especially, oil and gas, mining and fisheries. Corporate Communications and CSR, Occupational Health and Safety at the Workplace, Kingsley says are issues close to his heart.
Nomination
Kingsley’s nominated story is about the discovery of Lithium in larger quantities at Ewoyaa, a small farming Community in the Mfantsiman Municipality of the Central Region. This latest Mineral found, places Ghana as the world’s latest hub for Lithium and the first West African Lithium producing country. Estimated returns are at $1.5 billion for the first five years of its production. The company undertaking the prospecting of this mineral is IronRidge Resources, which has entered into a binding agreement with Piedmont’s Lithium to fully execute and fast track the Ewoyaa Lithium Project.
About Lithium
Lithium is a mineral which serves as a raw material for all kinds of batteries. What makes it the hottest and most sought after material is that Lithium is what is used to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. With the conscious effort by world leaders and automobile companies to phase out fossil fuel cars and replace them with electric cars, Ghana indeed is best placed to benefit immensely.
Impact
The story highlighted for the first time in the Ghanaian media the discovery and presence of Lithium in that part of the country, generating some excitement at the news.
The other issue the story highlighted for discourse and action is on transparency and accountability, taking into consideration how revenues from other mineral resources have been treated over the years.
“It was clear during my visit to Ewoyaa and further to the Lithium site that custodians of the Mineral resource themselves knew very little about the happenings. How about the public?”, Kingsley questioned.
While working on the story, Kingsley said he had some interference from the Site Managers and Workers, who prevented him from an audio-visual documentation of the site.
”As a Journalist, I managed to get some visuals for this story which was aired on GBC’s Business Magazine program, GTV’s Market Avenue with Edward Nyarko, Kingsley noted.
His story generated some conversation and discourse in the media, with the public raising issues of transparency and accountability. According to Kingsley, although the Mfantsiman Municipal Assembly was in the know of the activity of Lithium found, issues of monitoring and supervision were not a priority.
Consequently, Kingsley’s story compelled the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly and the prospecting Company to organize a media tour of the site, where the mode of operation, and terms and conditions were explained to the media.
Besides, the People of Ewoyaa are also becoming aware of what they are custodians of(Lithuim), and the need for them to position themselves properly to derive the needed benefit to improve their lot.
Ewoyaa is a farming Community of about 300 inhabitants. It has no school, there is a bad road network and no proper telecommunication network.
“ Being nominated alone for this prestigious and competitive awards is an honour and I owe it to my team and my Boss Edward Nyarko, for the guidance”, Kingsley posited.
”My Joy as a Journalist is seeing to it that my stories and work impact people and communities positively and change their lives for good”.
“The people themselves feeling and acknowledging the impact alone is a win already for me. This is what l stand for and continue to do as my contribution to society as a Journalist and being nominated for what I have been doing always is an honour and extra acknowledgement and I appreciate that”, he stressed.
Kingsley expressed appreciation to the organizers for finding the story worthy of nomination and also to his colleagues for their continuous support with special mention of Edward Nyarko and the team for the support.