Agyapa deal bad, NDC will review it – Haruna Iddrisu insists

Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu has insisted that the Agyapa Royalties agreement is a bad deal that does not serve the interest of Ghana.

He said his party the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will not be associated with it if the party wins this year’s elections.

“We will not be associated with it,” he told Berla Mundi on the Elections Command Centre on TV3 Wednesday, September 16, adding that “It will be subject to a review. It is a bad deal. It offends Article 181 (5) of the constitution, we have not seen the condition and the prospectus.”

Ghana’s legislature approved the controversial Agyapa Mineral Royalty Limited agreement Friday, August 14 despite a protest from the Minority.

Based on the agreement, Agyapa Royalties Limited (ARL) will trade shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange for private people to buy.

But the Mineral Income Investment Fund(MIIF) will remain the majority shareholder.

The Minority said the deal makes it impossible for a future government to replace managers of Agyapa Royalties Limited although the Minerals Income Investment Fund will remain the majority shareholder.

Some civil society organization groups have also raised questions about the transparency of the deal, demand its immediate suspension for further stakeholder engagement.

But Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said the agreement will not be cancelled because the government is convinced it is good for Ghana.

He said on Joy FM that “the issue of transparency, the valuation, tax haven and all of those little things that that people need to know, I pray that we have done justice.”

Asked whether the government can publish a 30-year cash flow projections based on the Agyapa module juxtaposed side by side with inflows from the royalties from the current arrangement over the same 30-year period, he answered: “That is welcomed. There is nothing that we cannot or should not do and really in the end after three, four, five years it is all projections."

“Yes, we can. So we can do that I can tell my guys to start on I,” he said.

Asked again whether the government will pause the deal in the face of some of the dissenting views expressed on it, he answered: “No we are not. I think this is a good transaction. I think the issues that have been raised we have put light on them. This is an incredible opportunity, the highest gold prices in the world.”