The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has vowed to prosecute government officials and persons implicated in the $12 million expenditure on the suspended Gold Royalties Monetisation Transaction, known as the Agyapa deal if it wins power in the 2024 general elections.

The Communications Officer of the party, Sammy Gyamfi, said this at a 'Moment of Truth' Conference by the Communication Bureau of the party on February 19, 2024.

According to him, the Agyapa deal was a scam that amounted to wilfully causing financial loss to the state, and that the culprits of the deal must not go unpunished.

He said that not only will the Agyapa deal be investigated but also other deals such as the PDS scandal, the BOSTGATE, would also be investigated.

“Fellow countrymen and women, the “Agyapa” scam amounts to wilfully causing financial loss to the state, and the culprits of same must not go unpunished. We in the NDC, and all well-meaning Ghanaians, repose huge trust and confidence in H.E John Mahama, to pursue and retrieve public funds that have been lost to looting schemes such as this “Agyapa” scandal, the PDS scandal, the “BOSTGATE” scandal and other acts of naked thievery by officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government and their party apparatchiks,” he stated.

Sammy Gyamfi also accused the Akufo-Addo government of fraudulently scheming the deal to rip off Ghanaians.

He said the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) had found that payments were fraudulently made to some entities under the deal, such as Databank, a company founded and still owned by Ken Ofori-Atta, the former Finance Minister and cousin of President Akufo-Addo and also to Africa Legal Associates, a law firm belonging to Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, another relative of the president.

“The flagbearer of the NDC and incoming President, John Mahama, at the time, vowed to cancel the fraudulent Agyapa royalties deal if he won the 2020 general elections. That position has not changed.

"The OSP found that payments were fraudulently made to some entities under the deal. Entities like Databank, a company founded and still owned by Ken Ofori-Atta, the immediate Finance Minister, and cousin of President Akufo-Addo," the communications officer added.

"... The Office of the Special Prosecutor also found similar illegal payments were made to Africa Legal Associates, a law firm belonging to Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko.

"All these payments were found by the OSP to be unlawful, yet these payments did not benefit the country in any way. The money has gone into the hands of the President, Ken Ofori-Atta, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, and his few cronies,” he alleged.

Background

The Agyapa Royalties deal was the government’s strategy to beat the long-standing problem of lack of capital for developmental projects.

Over the years, the government under different Executive presidencies tried to look for money by going to the IMF, the capital market or the international bond market.

These three main sources of capital are expensive. Interest rates on the bond markets are generally high and because the tenure is short, Ghana risks falling into high debt distress.

IMF loans became unpopular because they usually came with restrictions.

Coronavirus seems to have made loans on the capital market unattractive.

And with Ghana’s current poor credit rating and the effects of the pandemic, the government needed access to cheaper sources of capital.

A deal like the Agyapa Royalties agreement, therefore, came as the strategy governments across the world have adopted to raise money on the global financial market. It involves securitising future flows of revenue with proceeds from the extractive sector.

The controversy over the Agyapa Royalties deal started on August 14, 2020, when the Majority of MPs secured the numbers to pass the agreement although the Minority staged a walkout.

Foundations of the deal

The deal started in June 2018 when Parliament passed the Minerals Income Investment Fund (Act 2018) to manage the equity interests in mining companies and also receive royalties on behalf of the Government of Ghana.

The Minerals Income Investment Fund is mandated to manage and invest these royalties and revenue it receives on behalf of Ghana and invest them for higher returns.

To do this, the law enables the Fund to establish Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to appropriate these investments.

Amendment

In July 2020, the government introduced an amendment to the Act to ensure that the SPVs that the Fund would establish to manage investments get unrestricted independence.

On the back of the amendment and the original provisions of the act, the Minerals Income Investment Fund set up an offshore limited liability company known as Agyapa Royalties Limited (previously Asaase Royalties Limited).

The Agyapa Royalties Ltd is incorporated in Bailieick of Jersey in the UK, a tax haven. It has been incorporated in a tax haven to cut out the associated high tax charges to the returns that will accrue to the state from the investments.

Agyapa Royalties Limited is registered in Ghana as an external company.

How Agyapa Royalties was to operate

- Agyapa Royalties Limited will trade shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange for the private market.

- Mineral Income Investment Fund will remain the majority shareholder.

- ARL will raise between $500 million and $750 million for the government to use for developmental initiatives – the government has revealed the four key areas of investment will be education expenditure, primary capital, health and infrastructural development.

- Future resources from gold royalties will go to ARL shareholders instead of the Mineral Investment Fund and for that matter government. Essentially, the government is mortgaging expected royalties from gold in exchange for about $500 million – $750 million from ARL.

Concerns and controversy

The Minority MPs have led the opposition to the deal but recently at least 15 CSOs in the extractive sector have joined the call for it to be suspended.

Main concerns

- That creating the SVP as an offshore company in a tax haven will make it difficult to oversight the firm.

- That the agreement makes it impossible for a future government to replace managers of Agyapa Royalties although the Minerals Income Investment Fund will remain the majority shareholder.

- That the whole deal fails the test of transparency because it is based on the hasty amendment to the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act

- That the deal is bad because it seeks to mortgage future revenues from gold royalties for a lump sum of money now.

- Fifteen CSOs in the extractive sector, fronting under the name ‘Alliance of CSOs working on Extractives, Anti-Corruption and Good Governance’ want the deal suspended for lack of transparency.

Controversy

The main controversy over the deal is linked to the initial name for the SPV, Asaase Royalties. It was alleged that some powerful people in the current government-owned Asaase Royalties and the name was changed quickly when the cover was blown.

The identities of the top management of Agyapa Royalties, like the son of Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, were also a source of controversy.

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NW/SARA

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