- Part 1 – Exclusive/Breaking
- Foreign Interests, Local Politics and Ghana’s Mines: Inside Alleged Campaign Against Engineers & Planners
NorvanReports investigations have uncovered what appears to be a coordinated attempt by foreign-linked mining interests to frame Engineers & Planners and its founder, Mr Ibrahim Mahama, as beneficiaries of political favouritism in Ghana’s mining sector, despite indications that the processes leading to the company’s acquisition of strategic mining assets began under the previous New Patriotic Party administration.
Over the past month, NorvanReports has been investigating the circumstances surrounding the Black Volta Gold Mine, owned by Azumah Resources, and the Damang Mine, formerly operated by Gold Fields, following concerns that powerful commercial interests unhappy with recent outcomes in Ghana’s mining sector are seeking to internationalise a damaging narrative against Engineers & Planners.
At the centre of the matter are intercepted WhatsApp messages reviewed by NorvanReports, allegedly sent by veteran British journalist Jonathan Clayton to senior figures within the opposition New Patriotic Party, seeking their position on what he described as Ghana’s mining governance concerns under President John Dramani Mahama’s Reset Agenda.
Mr Clayton is not an unknown figure. His own curriculum vitae describes him as a journalist, foreign correspondent, writer and editor with more than 40 years’ experience, including senior roles with Reuters and The Times of London. He also states that he has advised private sector companies, think tanks, non-governmental organisations and United Nations bodies on media strategy.
But the intercepted messages reviewed by NorvanReports raise serious questions about whether the current effort is ordinary journalistic inquiry or a more calculated reputational operation being pushed by interests linked to companies that lost control, influence or expectations around strategic mining assets now associated with Engineers & Planners.
According to information available to NorvanReports, a meeting was held in London about two weeks ago involving persons linked to mining interests affected by the Black Volta and Damang transactions. Sources familiar with the matter allege that the discussions centred on how to generate political and international pressure against Engineers & Planners and its owner, Mr Ibrahim Mahama, plus his brother, the President, including by encouraging opposition figures to speak publicly and negatively on the matter.
NorvanReports is withholding, for now, the names of some directors, shareholders and political contacts identified in our investigation.
The intercepted WhatsApp exchanges show the Journalist, Mr Clayton, presenting himself as working on a story for The Times of London ahead of the Reset Agenda. In one message, he writes: “hello sir, my name is Jonathan Clayton and I am trying to do a story for the Times of London ahead of the Reset agenda…”
He then adds: “I attach my CV and bio.”
The journalist subsequently shared a list of questions which, although framed as a reporter’s questionnaire, appears to adopt the language and assumptions of a political campaign rather than a neutral inquiry.
One proposed question states, ‘You have described developments in the mining sector as a form of “state capture.”” That is a serious allegation. Precisely what actions by the government meet your definition of state capture?”
The questionnaire also directly targets the Damang transition, asking: “You have raised concerns about the Damang transition. What specifically about the tender process leads you to believe it was not conducted fairly or transparently?”
The most direct political framing appears in the section on Mr Ibrahim Mahama. One question reads, “You argue that Ibrahim Mahama’s growing role in the sector creates concerns. Is your objection that he is the President’s brother, or that decisions affecting his companies are being taken improperly?”
For NorvanReports, the significance of these messages is not simply that a foreign journalist is asking difficult questions. Journalists are entitled to ask hard questions. The deeper issue is whether those questions are being shaped, encouraged or sponsored by commercial actors seeking to damage a Ghanaian competitor after losing out in mining-sector transactions.
The messages suggest an effort to secure the opposition NPP’s position and possibly use that political response as part of a broader international story. In one exchange, after being asked how the process was going, the journalist stated that he was working under “very tight deadlines” and needed feedback on the NPP position on the Reset Agenda, specifically mentioning “Azumah, Tarkwa and Damang.”
Another message seen by NorvanReports is the journalist asked: “Can we push him hard? I have deadlines of COB today? Really want NPP view.”
That request, in the view of sources who spoke to NorvanReports, suggests the exercise was not merely about understanding Ghana’s mining policy, but about obtaining an opposition political line that could be used to reinforce a predetermined narrative.
The proposed questions also extend to investor confidence, asking: “What are you hearing from international investors? Are projects actually being delayed or cancelled, or is the damage at this stage primarily reputational?”
Another question links the matter directly to President Mahama’s Reset Agenda: “President Mahama is promoting Ghana internationally as a destination for investment under his Reset Agenda. Do you believe current developments in the mining sector are undermining that message?”
The questionnaire concludes by asking whether the NPP intends to organise demonstrations or public events in the United Kingdom to draw attention to concerns about governance in the mining sector while President Mahama is in London promoting Ghana as an investment destination.
For supporters of Engineers & Planners, the pattern is clear: commercial actors who failed to retain or control certain mining assets are allegedly seeking to repackage a commercial disappointment as a governance scandal.
They argue that Engineers & Planners legitimately acquired the assets on merit, and that the relevant processes did not begin under President Mahama’s current administration. Rather, they say, key steps were initiated under the previous NPP government led by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
That timeline is central to the matter. If the processes began under the previous administration, then attempts to present the transactions as a product of President Mahama’s return to power raise questions about motive, timing and accuracy.
Sources close to the matter argue that Mr Ibrahim Mahama is being targeted not because Engineers & Planners failed any technical or financial test, but because his family relationship with the President provides a convenient political hook for a broader campaign.
“This is no longer about transparency,” one source familiar with the transactions told NorvanReports. “It is about using politics to destroy a Ghanaian businessman’s ability to raise financing and operate assets he acquired legitimately.”
At issue is no longer merely who owns Damang or Black Volta. The larger question is whether Ghana’s mining-sector debate is being shaped by genuine concerns about governance or by a foreign-backed effort to damage a Ghanaian company that has become too competitive for comfort.
Stay Tuned as we review even more damning documents and messaging between parties, some of which are members of the opposition, shareholders of multinational mining firms and other Actors.
To be Continued…..
