Agyapa Royalties: Principles surrounding transaction good for Ghana - Ofori-Atta

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has described the principals based on the Agyapa Royalties Limited transaction agreement as one that is appropriate for the country.

According to him, the agreement presents a visionary future towards the development of Ghana through the monitisation of natural resources.

Speaking in an interview on Accra based, Asaase Radio on Friday September 4, the Finance Minister indicated the full non-disclosure of the transaction is not an attempt to hide information as suggested.

“The details of this agreement are straight forward and with no attempt to hide information from the public. Truly this transaction has been ongoing in Parliament since 2018 and I would conceive that perhaps the deliberations could’ve been more heightened but we are clear that this transaction agreement is good for the country,” he stated.

He continued; “I am feeling confident in the current time and I think it's a good time to go through with this deal. It's a political year and so despite the attempt of the opposition to implement this deal, [Agyapa Royalties] the reality hit. They said the same thing about Vodafone.”

Meanwhile, the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta had earlier asserted there are no hidden beneficiaries in the approved Agyapa Royalties transaction by Parliament.

This follows calls by some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the minority calling for the transaction to be suspended due to a full non-disclosure of the terms in the agreement prior to its approval in Parliament on August 14, 2020.

The Finance Minister on his part, explained the Agyapa Royalties transaction is 100 percent owned by the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), an entity that is also solely owned by the government of Ghana.

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 company [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.