Finance Minister has asserted there are no hidden beneficiaries in the just approved Agyapa Royalties transaction by Parliament as suggested by the Minority and some civil society groups.

This comes on the back of calls raising questions about the transparency of the transaction, with some calling for the deal to be suspended.

Addressing journalists in Accra on Thursday, August 27, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta explained the Agyapa Royalties transaction was 100 percent owned by Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), an entity that is also solely owned by the government of Ghana prior to its approval in Parliament.

“Agyapa is 100 percent owned by MIIF, which is 100 percent owned by the government and there are no hidden beneficiaries in that regard. It is a clean transaction as far as I know and we’re just looking for ways to maximise value and to play in the game that our multinationals play and now we have the skillset to be able to do that”, Ofori-Atta intimated.

“So once when we begin the process of listing which is going to be listed both on the London Stock Exchange and the Ghana Stock Exchange and we’ve done that before with AngloGold Ashanti etc., so it’s not a mystery in a sense to do that,” the finance minister added.

He assured that there was nothing hidden or sinister about the transaction as it went through a rigorous and transparent process by Parliament and Cabinet on different levels.

“As far as I know, the transaction has been as transparent as you can see it; it has gone through Parliament on many levels, gone through Cabinet on many levels and there’s truly nothing to hide except creating something new that may be uncomfortable but it is something new that is going to stand us in great order”.

The Government of Ghana through the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) set up the Agyapa Royalties Limited in a bid to monetize Ghana’s gold royalties.

In exchange for that, the company intends to raise between US$500 million and US$750 million for the Government on the Ghana and London Stock exchanges to invest in developmental projects.