Source: Starr FM
The Minority in Parliament says it will write to the London Stock Exchange over concerns and challenges they have observed with the Agyapa royalties deal put together by the government of Ghana.
“We will, after today’s press conference, put the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Conduct Authority on notice that this agreement does not meet the required due diligence and transparency, and a substantial level of conflict of interest runs through the structuring of the agreement. The Agreement, is, therefore, tainted with some corrupt acts,” Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu said at a press conference Tuesday.
According to him, “The NDC is of the strong view that the decision to mortgage Ghana’s future mineral royalties in perpetuity is grossly inimical to the interest of the people of Ghana and runs contrary to the constitutional imperative that governmental power is exercised for the welfare of the people of Ghana. This deal fails to enhance public welfare. Our analysis shows clearly that Ghana stands to lose billions of United States Dollars in revenue as a consequence of this illegal transaction”.
The Minority leader also demanded disclosure of full details on the amount of money paid to lawyers who consulted on the deal.
Below are details of the minority’s statement
Good Morning. Thank you for responding to our call, once again, at such short notice.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, you will recall that on Friday, August 14, 2020, the last day of the second meeting of the fourth session of the 7th Parliament, President Akufo-Addo caused seven agreements relating to the Minerals Income Investment Fund (“MIIF”) to be laid before Parliament for approval.
The Agreements seek to mortgage Ghana’s future mineral royalties and long term national assets in perpetuity without any regard to its implication on future national revenue streams. Through this transaction, the Akufo Addo government intends to use a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Agyapa Royalties, incorporated as an offshore company in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, a known tax haven, in exchange for an upfront amount of ¢500 million, under the Mineral Development Fund Act, 2018 (Act 978) and its amendment Act, which strangely, was yet to be assented to by the President in accordance with article 106 of the 1992 Constitution to make it law. The Government of Ghana will own 51 per cent of the shares of the company and remaining 49 per cent floated on the London Stock Exchange.
Let me state emphatically, that Members of Parliament had less than 4 hours to scrutinize these agreements, and ascertain the extent to which they would enhance the welfare of the people of Ghana and in particular its ramifications on national revenue into the future. Paradoxically, the Akufo Addo-government claims to have used two years to prepare these agreements and yet, the people’s representatives in Parliament were required to peruse and approve same in less than four hours.
The NDC Minority in Parliament, took a strong position in the national interest that the indecent haste with which these high-stakes agreements were being rushed through the parliamentary approval process does not augur well for the important exercise of Parliamentary oversight on an issue as critical as the mortgaging of the gold royalties of the country in perpetuity.
As representatives of the people of Ghana, it is our duty to ensure that such agreements meet key legal legal and constitutional requirements before approval. The Minority therefore requested for the full complement of requisite documents to guide and facilitate a thorough scrutiny and due diligence of the proposed deal in accordance with article 185 of the 1992 constitution.
