• The deal which earlier withdrawn after it was passed in Parliament over a number of concerns raised
• But Ken Ofori-Atta said the A-G and other stakeholders reviewed the deal thoroughly
The Nana Akufo-Addo-led government has revealed its intentions to once again submit to Parliament a restructured agreement with regards to the Agyapa Royalties transaction.
The deal earlier hit a snag after it was approved by Parliament but was withdrawn following concerns raised by a number of Civil Society Organisations and a section of the public over the transparency of the agreement.
But Finance Minister recently disclosed that Attorney-General had already reviewed a restructured deal and repackaged it to ensure the country benefits from the deal.
“The Attorney-General has looked at it and we have had a few stakeholder meetings and I think the new board should be energised to review that and then go through the Parliamentary process,” he said.
“I’m unequivocal that it is the way to go in terms of monetizing our minerals and finding a way to leverage it to reduce the level of debt of the country and move it into equity. And with the concerns that were raised we should be able to address them and move forward,” the finance minister added.
Ken Ofori-Atta said this during the inauguration of board members for the Mineral Income Investment Fund (MIIF) on Tuesday October 12, 2021.
Prior to the deal being withdrawn by Parliament, former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu following a Corruption Risk assessment cited a number of red flags over the deal.
In a report issued before his resignation in November 2020, the former SP said there was reasonable suspicion of bid-rigging and corruption activity in the selection process of the deal.
He further pointed that the transaction contained various infractions with regard to conflict of interest.
Meanwhile, earlier in March this year, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo while delivering his State of the Nation Address told Parliament his government intends to further engage lawmakers on the future of the transaction.
The sole purpose of the Agyapa Royalty transaction is to manage and invest mineral royalties and revenue from equities for higher returns and for the benefit of the country and government through the MIIF.
In exchange, the Agyapa Mineral Royalty Limited plans to raise between US$500 million and US$750 million for the Government on the Ghana and London Stock exchanges to invest in developmental projects. Read Full Story
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