Agyapa deal best bet to leverage Ghana’s finances for dev’t – Okyem Aboagye

Government’s spokesperson on Finance and a member of the Committee in Parliament, Daniel Okyem Aboagye, said the Agyapa deal will go a long way to leverage the country’s finances for development.

Daniel Okyem Aboagye who is also the Member of Parliament for Bantama constituency, said the country needs to leverage its key resources such as gold, etc to finance developmental projects in the country.

This statement comes after the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) introduced a Minerals Income Investment Fund (“MIIF”) which has been approved by Parliament despite a walkout by the minority.

The agreements seeks 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.

Per the transaction, the Akufo Addo government will 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.

According to the agreement, 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.

The minority has , however, kicked against the deal, arguing that it’s a mere ploy by the NPP to milk the state through the Agyapa deal.



Speaking on the deal on Atinka FM’s AM Drive with host Ekourba Gyasi, Government’s spokesperson on Finance and a member of the Committee in Parliament, Daniel Okyem Aboagye, said the difference between Agyapa and other past projects is that Agyapa is not a loan and therefore has no loan obligations

“Agyapa is just like a someone investing in your company and you promising the person some percentage of interest at the end of the year. Either way, you still have the controlling interest. With the Agyapa deal, the controlling interest is the government of Ghana, the future is now”, he said.