Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta says government has nothing to hide in the Agyapa Royalties deal.

According to him, government is acting in the best interest of the citizenry in the mineral royalties transaction.

“When I saw elite capture written in a statement on this issue, it was for me, a very painful thing. I’m very clear that this the right time to do such a deal and I’m clear that what we are doing is the right thing for the nation.

“Agyapa is wholly owned by government and there are no hidden beneficiaries. It is going to be listed in London and also in Ghana. And there is truly nothing to hide, it has gone through parliament and all the various stages. Agyapa is going to be the largest company in the mineral resource place,” Mr. Ofori-Atta noted at a press conference in Accra Thursday.

The comments come on the back of threat by former President John Mahama and the Minority in Parliament that they will cancel the deal if they win the December polls. Some civil society groups have also criticised the deal.

“Agyapa is a very shady deal, it is a theft of Ghanaian royalties. If I become president, I will not accept that deal. The people of Ghana do not accept that deal. It is against the money laundering rules. If you look at the people who put this together they are people close to the president and already they have been paid two million dollars.

“This president and his family think they can do anything and get away with it,” Mr. Mahama said in an interview.

Agyapa deal

Parliament has approved five agreements to allow the country to derive maximum value from its mineral resources and monetise its mineral income in a sustainable and responsible manner, in line the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act, 2018 (Act 978).

The approval will enable the country to use a special purpose vehicle, Agyapa Royalties Limited to secure about $1 billion to finance large infrastructural projects.

In line with that, Agyapa, which will operate as an independent private sector entity, will be able to raise funds from the capital market, both locally and internationally, as an alternative to the conventional debt capital market transactions.

The funds, which are expected to be raised from the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), will be a long-term capital, without a corresponding increase in Ghana’s total debt stock and hence without a public debt repayment obligation.