Policy think tank, IMANI Africa, has presented a detailed analysis of the controversial Agyapa Royalties deal, justifying the varied opposition that has hit the agreement.

In its latest alert, IMANI Africa mentions, among other things, that the timeline of four months to IPO is problematic, unless the Government has surreptitiously filed for listing.

“To ensure favourable pricing of the offered securities, the timeline for listing any MIIF SPV on any international exchange should be extended to at least April 2021. This should also allow additional scrutiny into the Agyapa transaction because, so far, it lacks the basic minimum of transparency and assurance of above-board dealing required of a sovereign transaction,” the periodic ‘IMANI Alert’ on the deal stated.

The Agyapa Royalties deal, according to government, is part of its strategy to beat the long-standing problem of lack of capital for developmental projects.

Agyapa Royalties Limited is expected to trade shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange for the private market.

But some details of the deal has been described as problematic and lacks transparency.

According to IMANI Africa, “the degree of information-hiding has been so intense that, per the official record, it took the Ministry of Finance more than a year to share the full set of agreements with the Government’s own Attorney General following an initial request for legal review in January 2019.”

Read IMANI’s full analysis on the deal below.