Martin Amidu will find nothing in Agyapa deal risk assessment - Assibey-Yeboah

Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, has said that the Special Prosecutor will find no erroneous deed in a recent risk assessment launched into the Agyapa Royalties deal.

In September 2020, Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu called on government to temporarily suspend a planned launch of an Initial Public Offer (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in relation to the Agyapa deal.

Mr Amidu’s reasons were that his office was yet to conclude a corruption risk assessment on the much-talked-about deal.

However, Dr Assibey-Yeboah in an interaction with Starr News posited that government did not temporarily suspend the IPO launch due to the Special Prosecutor’s directive but the need to be extra careful with the details of the deal.

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 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.

Agyapa Royalties Limited, in return, aims to raise between US$500 million and US$750 million for the Government on the Ghana and London Stock Exchanges intended for development and infrastructure projects.