CSOs more active than opposition - Gyampo

A Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Political Science Department, Professor Ransford Gyampo has called on the opposition to sit up and be more active in keeping the government on its toes.

According to Professor Gyampo, Civil Society Organisations have recently been more vibrant in scrutinising the government than the opposition which he describes as worrying.

Speaking on Starr FM’s Analyses programme on Saturday, Professor Gyampo also slammed government officials who are suddenly irritated by the work of the CSOs but were comfortable with when they were in opposition.

“I think that the CSOs are taking on regimes and I think that the CSO are doing more than the opposition and the opposition must sit up,” Professor Gyampo said.

He added “I commend on what CSOs are doing and I call on government to allow them to do what they are doing and once a upon a time they were in opposition and used the platform by CSOs and all of a sudden they are in power and find faults with them…I will say it is political hypocrisy.”

His comments after former Journalist and a senior member of the NPP, Elizabeth Ohene, in an article took a swipe at some CSO’s in the country describing them as all knowing neutrals.

Her criticisms followed the uproar on the Agyapa Royalties deal that the government is seeking to implement.

The Government on Friday denied suspending the Agyapa Royalties transaction.

The Ministry of Finance which issued the denial in a statement, said a publication claiming the suspension of the transaction after a meeting with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) is untrue.

While acknowledging meeting with CSOs on September 2, 2020, as part of efforts to broaden consultations and ensure the buy-in of all Ghanaians for the deal, the Ministry said no such decision was arrived at to suspend it.

About the Agyapa deal

Parliament August 14th approved the controversial Agyapa Mineral Royalty Limited agreement with the government of Ghana despite a walkout by the Minority.

Two years ago, the House passed the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018 which establishes the Fund to manage the equity interests of Ghana in mining companies, and receive royalties on behalf of government.

The fund is supposed to manage and invest these royalties and revenue from equities for higher returns for the benefit of the country.

The law allows the fund to establish Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to use for the appropriate investments. Last month, government introduced an amendment to the act to ensure that the SPVs have unfettered independence.

The approval will enable the country to use a special purpose vehicle, Agyapa Royalties Limited to secure about $1 billion to finance large infrastructural projects.

In line with that, Agyapa, which will operate as an independent private sector entity, will be able to raise funds from the capital market, both locally and internationally, as an alternative to the conventional debt capital market transactions.

The funds, which are expected to be raised from the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), will be a long-term capital, without a corresponding increase in Ghana’s total debt stock and hence without a public debt repayment obligation.