We did nothing wrong in Agyapa deal -Ofori-Atta

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has been very transparent in all its dealings as far as the Agyapa Royalties Limited deal is concerned, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has told the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
According to the Minister, the ministry included the agreement in the 2018 Budget and Economic Policy Statement because the government had independently assessed the potential value of the transaction, and Cabinet had approved same.
The Finance Minister, upon the President’s directive, was passing comments on the 67-page report on the risk analysis of the corruption and anti-corruption risk assessment of the Agyapa Royalties deal, submitted to the President and copied to the Finance Minister by the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor had advised the government to halt its planned launch of an Initial Public Offer (IPO) regarding the Agyapa Royalties agreement.
Mr Martin Amidu argues the move would allow his outfit the opportunity to conclude its ongoing corruption risk assessment, as information on the deal was scanty.
However, in his comment to the President, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta stated: “This Ministry believes that it has been transparent from the onset. Once government had independently assessed the potential value of the transaction to Ghana, and Cabinet had approved the policy to monetise future gold royalties to support current developmental projects, MoF included in the 2018 Budget and Economic Policy Statement, government’s intention to leverage the future wealth of Ghana’s gold resources to support current developmental needs.”
Commenting further on the engagement of transaction advisors, Ken Ofori-Atta indicated that the MoF initiated the process of procuring and engaging a transaction advisor to guide the implementation of the policy, in accordance with the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), as amended by the Public Procurement Act, 2016 (Act 914).
He further argued that with the approval of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), dated November 16, 2017, the MoF initiated the engagement of a transaction advisor for the Transaction, using the restricted tendering procurement process.
“MoF shortlisted eight (8) reputable international financial firms, with the requisite expertise in advisory, capital markets and investment banking transactions, especially in the mining and natural resources sectors, and in Africa. The firms were JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, IMARA Corporate Finance Limited (Pty) (Imara), Citi Bank, Morgan Stanley, Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Rothschild & Co.” he added among others.
One key point the Special Prosecutor noted was the fact that he could not guarantee a corruption-free agreement, after analysing the risk assessment.
The OSP said: “There is no guarantee that the sovereign minerals income being ceded to Agyapa Royalties Limited, without a national consensus and the analysis of the risk of corruption, and anti-corruption assessment environment as herein before analysed, is not and will not be a leaking pipe in the public purse.”
He continued: “There is further no guarantee that it will not constitute a windfall from this leaking public purse pipe for those Ghanaians lucky, through partisan affiliations, to be represented on its management, and who might have had stakes as promoters in establishing and incorporating in the safe haven of Jersey aforesaid.”
Meanwhile, in his comment, the Finance Minister said there was no justification for such a conclusion by the Special Prosecutor.
“It is noteworthy that because of the financial and investor nature of MIIF, both the Bank of Ghana and the Securities Exchange Commission are regulators of MIIF, and consequently, Board members must meet the strict “fit and proper” test required by both regulators.
“There is no justifiable reason for concluding that the current members of the MIIF Board will jeopardise their apparent professional integrity and reputations to engage in corrupt practices motivated by partisan considerations,” the Minister remarked.

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