The Ministry of Finance has debunked claims that the Agyapa Royalties transaction has been suspended.

“The Ministry wishes to state that the Agyapa Royalties transaction has not been suspended as is being reported,” a statement from the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry said.

It said Mr Mark Agyemang, the Technical Manager of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee, who is purported to have spoken about the suspension, was not in the meeting with the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

“The main outcome of the meeting as acknowledged by both sides was that the Government had fulfilled the requirements of the law. There was, however, the need for broader consultations to ensure the buy-in of all Ghanaians,” it said.

The statement said the meeting with the CSOs was one such consultation and the Ministry agreed with them to further broaden the consultations and to solicit further input from them and other Ghanaian constituencies going forward.

A number of concerns raised by the CSOs included registration of the entity in a tax haven, transparency, how the values were arrived at and what the country stood to benefit from the Agyapa Royalty transaction.

“After their concerns were aptly addressed by the Minister of Finance and his Deputy, they called on the Government to engage other institutions and stakeholders. At no point was there any suggestion that the transaction is being halted as being reported,” the statement said.

“It is regrettable for a media house to publish such a story and wrongfully attribute it to people who contributed meaningfully at the meeting with the Minister of Finance. The Ministry sees the media as a major stakeholder and wishes to call on them to seek clarity, especially on such emotive issues, before publishing.”