No NDC govt will honour the terms in Agyapa Royalties deal - Minority Leader

The Minority Leader has stated no future government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will honour the terms and conditions of the controversial Agyapa Royalties deal.

According to Haruna Iddrisu, the deal presents a major off shore transaction without full disclosure on the value of assets of the company and its fiscal measures to Parliament.

Addressing journalists at a press briefing in Accra on Tuesday, September 1, the minority leader said the assets of the transaction are grossly undervalued without explicit provision for the transaction made in the just the 2020 initial and supplementary budget.

"The Minister of Finance in presenting this deal is in breach and clear violation of the law and is required to have reported this deal with full disclosure in his 2020 Supplementary budget to Parliament. Our position is that no future NDC government will honor the terms of this Agyapa Royalties transaction."

Meanwhile, the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta 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.

According to him, the Agyapa Royalties transaction is 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.

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.