The controversy surrounding the entire Agyapa Royalties deal may send a bad signal to investors if the government is not transparent about the entire process, an economist Dr Lord Mensah has revealed.

Dr Mensah who is also a lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School added that the chaos surrounding the deal may lead to low patronage by investors if listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.

“If you don’t see transparency in the deal and citizens are not getting value for money, it will send bad signals to investors out there. As it stands now and with the chaos around it, trust me the fund might not receive the investors they are looking for.

“We should make things open and understand that for shares to thrive, there has to be transparency before any investor invests in it. With the issues surrounding this deal, we can list it and it will backfire. Unless those who are pushing the deal have investors they are looking at,” Dr Mensah said on Starr Today on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament says it will write to the London Stock Exchange over concerns and challenges they have observed with the Agyapa royalties deal put together by the government of Ghana.

“We will, after today’s press conference, put the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Conduct Authority on notice that this agreement does not meet the required due diligence and transparency, and a substantial level of conflict of interest runs through the structuring of the agreement. The Agreement, is, therefore, tainted with some corrupt acts,” Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu said at a press conference Tuesday.

According to him, “The NDC is of the strong view that the decision to mortgage Ghana’s future mineral royalties in perpetuity is grossly inimical to the interest of the people of Ghana and runs contrary to the constitutional imperative that governmental power is exercised for the welfare of the people of Ghana.

“This deal fails to enhance public welfare. Our analysis shows clearly that Ghana stands to lose billions of United States Dollars in revenue as a consequence of this illegal transaction”.