Special Prosecutor completes probe into Agyapa Deal

Martin Amidu, the Special Prosecutor has given notice of completion of corruption risk assessment by his office into the controversial Agyapa Royalties deal.

Amidu announced in a press release that in line with standard practice, his outfit has served the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta copies of their observations and conclusions on the matter.

The statement posited that the office of Special Prosecutor found it worthwhile to inform the public of conclusion of his constitutional mandate.

“The analysis of the risk of corruption and anti-corruption assessment was completed and signed by the Special Prosecutor on 15th October 2020. The Special Prosecutor in a letter with reference number OSP/SCR/20/12/20 dated 16th October 2020 conveyed the conclusions and observations of the anti-corruption assessment to H. E. the President and the Hon. Minister of Finance as a matter of courtesy before informing the public.

“Two weeks is more than too long for this Office to continue withholding the announcement of the completion of its sixty-four (64) page report to the public. It is important that this Office has the freedom to discharge its anti-corruption mandate and keep the public informed,” parts of the statement read.

“I have, therefore, decided to bring the facts of the conclusion of the anti-corruption assessment of the Agyapa Royalties Transactions by this Office to the attention of the public and to avoid the continued speculations on this matter,” the Special Prosecutor added in the press release.

The controversial mineral transaction was referred to the office of the Special Prosecutor following concerns by some Civil Society Organizations and the opposition National Democratic Party.

Martin Amidu earlier accused the Finance Ministry of stonewalling” and “delaying” probe into the deal.

“The stonewalling, the delays have come from the Ministry of Finance, particularly the Deputy Minister of Finance, Adu Boahen. He’s the one who has held us up and, unfortunately, we are in October, which is not what we intended,”he noted in a Citi FM interview.

About Agyapa deal

Parliament August 14th approved the controversial Agyapa Mineral Royalty Limited agreement with the government of Ghana despite a walkout by the Minority.

Two years ago, the House passed the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018 which establishes the Fund to manage the equity interests of Ghana in mining companies, and receive royalties on behalf of government.

The fund is supposed to manage and invest these royalties and revenue from equities for higher returns for the benefit of the country.

The law allows the fund to establish Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to use for the appropriate investments. Last month, government introduced an amendment to the act to ensure that the SPVs have unfettered independence.

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.