ECOWAS Court fines govt $750 over Agyapa deal

An Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court has fined the government of Ghana $750 for delay in the Agyapa Royalties case.

A three-member panel of the ECOWAS Court presided over by Justice Edward Amoako Asante fined the Attorney General for delays in filing for his response on behalf of the government.

The cost was awarded because the AG had requested for time to file a reply in a case in which Transparency International, Ghana Integrity Initiative and Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition have sued Ghana Government over the Agyapa deal.

The applicants per the action at the ECOWAS Court are asking for more clarity of the proposed deal by the government to explore the country’s gold reserve.

In the ECOWAS Court sitting on Wednesday, March 23, the Ghana’s Attorney General represented by Dorothy Afriyie Ansah requested for time to file a reply to the applicants reply to their response.

The Agyapa deal which was proposed by the government in 2020 generated a lot of controversy in Ghana especially from the opposition and civil society organizations.

According to the Minister of Finance, the special purpose vehicle is the best thing to get value for Ghana’s mineral resources.

Addressing the Board of the Minerals Incomes and Investment Funds (MIIF), Mr Ofori-Atta said government has taken note of concerns raised against the bill and the Attorney General will address them before taking it back to Parliament.

“You must continue with the work that has been done following the theme of the budget ‘Continuity, Consolidation and Completion’ and address and overcome all the concerns against the Agyapa transaction, so we can go to the market and create the first mineral royalty company in Ghana and in Africa because it is good for Ghana,” he said.

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