Agyapa Royalties transaction will be back in Parliament – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has disclosed that his government plans to re-table before Parliament the Agyapa Royalties transaction.

The controversial gold royalty deal was put on suspension after civil society organisations, Members of Parliament and a section of the public rejected it saying it was not going to serve the best interest of the country

But President Akufo-Addo delivering his State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, March 9 told Parliament his government intends to further engage lawmakers on the future of the transaction.

“The government will come back to engage the House on the steps it intends to take on the future of the Agyapa transaction,” President Akufo-Addo declared.

Martin Amidu, the former Special Prosecutor in a corruption risk assessment had earlier concluded that there were breaches of the Public Procurement Act and the Public Financial Management Act with regards to how the advisors of the gold royalty fund agreement were procured.

Martin Amidu disclosed that the process involving the transaction raised reasonable suspicion of bid-rigging and corruption.

The risk assessment report also indicated that the procurement of service providers for the transaction showed possible cronyism and nepotism which could result in illicit financial activities and money laundering.

Mr Amidu subsequently resigned from his role as Special Prosecutor in November last year.

Prior to approving the Agyapa Royalties transaction, Parliament in 2018 passed the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act 2018 which establishes the Fund to manage the equity interests of Ghana in mining companies and receive royalties on behalf of government.

The sole purpose of the fund is to manage and invest these royalties and revenue from equities for higher returns for the benefit of the country and government through the MIIF.

In exchange for that, the Agyapa Royalties Limited aims to raise between US$500 million and US$750 million for the Government on the Ghana and London Stock exchange’s intended for development projects.