Members of the minority of Parliament have stated that they would vote against the controversial Agyapa Mineral Royalty Deal when it is brought back to parliament for approval.
The caucus insists that the agreement is already poor and that if passed, it would not benefit Ghanaians. Haruna Iddrisu, the caucus chairman, told Citi News after President Nana Akufo-Addo delivered the 2021 State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, that he isn’t sure about the deal’s propriety.
“Agyapa [coming] back [means] corruption is back. We will not support it. I am very certain in my mind and I remain unconvinced,” he said.
Nana Akufo-Addo hinted that the infamous offer that failed to see the light of day in the 7th Parliament would be revived in the 8th Parliament when delivering his first State of the Nation address in his second term in office.
Members of the Minority who opposed the agreement when it was first proposed during Akufo-first Addo’s term have stated that they would not support it if it is reintroduced in Parliament.
Read Also: Ghana facing difficulties procuring COVID-19 vaccines – Health Minister
In an interview with Eyewitness News, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu, John Abdulai Jinapor, spoke out against the effort to get the defeated agreement back to parliament.
“The interest of the Minority is that of Ghana. We will be part of any process that will inure to the benefit of this country. We haven’t even seen the document, we haven’t seen what they are bringing but given the record of this government and our experience with them, I will be surprised if they bring anything good, that is why I maintain that if it comes in this form, it should be considered dead on arrival,” he said.
“Our position is clear that if Agyapa is brought back with all those issues, it should be considered dead on arrival. We will not be part of any attempt to mismanage the future resources and mortgage the future of the youth to some selected individuals and their personal gains. That will not happen in this parliament,” he added.
Meanwhile, the President of IMANI Africa, one of the scores of civil society organisations that raised concern and called for the deal’s withdrawal, said they are unsurprised by the government’s decision to reintroduce the agreement and would wait to see the latest document that the government would deliver on the deal before stating their stance.
“For many of us in CSO space we are not entirely surprised… We are just waiting. These are early days yet to I would believe that the president would have taken the lessons and then made sure that the deal comes back in another form that meets the demand of everybody who has concerns about it,” he said
Agyapa Deal
President Nana Akufo-Addo established Agyapa Royalties Limited to securitize Ghana’s gold royalties during his first term in office, through the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).
Despite the Minority’s walkout, Parliament accepted the Agyapa Mineral Royalty Limited deal with the Ghanaian government on August 14.
In return, the firm wanted to raise $500 million to $750 million on the Ghana and London stock markets for the government to invest in construction ventures.
The decision was widely panned. Following the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s scathing report, the government postponed the transaction and directed then-Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to bring it back before Parliament.
Several procedures were allegedly broken prior to legislative ratification, according to the Special Prosecutor’s office.
However, the office’s allegations were dismissed by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and other government officials.
Source: ATLFMNEWSROOM
