Agyapa: Ofori-Atta agrees to consult CSOs further after Wednesday meeting

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has agreed to do further consultation on the controversial Agyapa agreement with civil society organisations.

This came about after some 16 CSOs that earlier kicked against the deal, met with the minister on the matter at the Finance Ministry on Wednesday, 2 September 2020.

The almost two-hour closed-door meeting sought to find common ground between the minister and the CSOs in connection with the deal.

Speaking exclusively to Class News' Charles Akrofi after the meeting, the Convenor for the CSOs, Dr Steve Manteaw, said although the deal is not on hold, “I think it was a very fruitful meeting”.

“We came to some accommodation in respect of the need for further consultations.

“The challenge now is the timing and the 'how' to go about these further consultations.

“I’ve already indicated that we are principally not against the attempt to optimise or maximise benefits from our mineral royalties, no”, he noted.

He added: “I think the challenge has to do with some weaknesses we see, which may require that we make some modification to the law itself and also to the whole project implementation approach and I think the minister seems to adopt such a pragmatic response and, so, we are hoping the group will be meeting, reconvening tomorrow to map out the next steps in terms of how we support the ministry to do additional consultations and tweaking to make sure that Ghana comes out the winner”.

Last week, the Alliance of CSOs Working on Extractive, Anti-Corruption and Good Governance called for the immediate suspension of the deal.

The CSOs said the beneficial ownership of the special purpose vehicle and Agyapa Minerals Royalties should be made public or the implementation of the deal be deferred.

Parliament, a few weeks ago, in line with the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act, 2018 (Act 978), approved agreements to allow the country to derive maximum value from its mineral resources and monetise its mineral income accruing to the country in a sustainable and responsible manner.

The move gives Agyapa Royalties Limited the right to secure about US$1 billion to enable government finance large infrastructural projects.

But the Chairman of the Alliance of CSOs Working on Extractive, Anti-Corruption and Good Governance, Dr Manteaw, at a press conference on Tuesday, 25 August 2020, said the deal is not transparent and places Agyapa Royalties above the country’s tax laws.

“The recent amendment of the Minerals Income Investment Fund creates more suspicion.

“The rushed amendment and inserting worrying clauses including clauses that leave a special purpose vehicle, Agyapa Royalties, above Ghanaian tax laws, outweighs Ghana’s immunity, and by that, exposes Ghana to the risk of damaging lawsuits should any future government seek to reverse this transaction,” he said.

“What we find even more repulsive about this whole transaction is the provision that permits Agyapa Royalties, a supposed company of the sovereign state, to register in tax payments to borrow money or raise equity in foreign currency from any source on the back of the gold royalties of Ghanaians without the requirement of any further approval, consent and administrative Act of the Government of Ghana.

“This provision takes Agyapa Royalties away from parliamentary oversight and control”, he added.

Already, the deal has been criticised by the opposition National Democratic Congress, which accused the government of mortgaging the country’s mineral resources.

NDC flagbearer John Mahama, for instance, has said the architects of the Agyapa Royalties deal are cronies of President Nana Akufo-Addo and hinted at cancelling the agreement should he win the 7 December 2020 polls.

“If I become president, I will not accept that deal”, he threatened.

According to him, “the people of Ghana do not accept that deal” since, in his view, “it is against the money laundering rules”.

“If you look at the people who put this together, they are people close to the president and already they have been paid two million dollars”, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress claimed.

“This president and his family think they can do anything and get away with it,” Mr Mahama said. Read Full Story