Government’s spokesperson on Finance and a member of the Committee in Parliament, Daniel Okyem Aboagye, has asked the minority to consider seeking redress at the appropriate quarters if to end the controversy surrounding the controversial Agyapa deal.
This statement by the Member of Parliament for Bantama constituency follows the minority’s insistence that the deal is a mere ploy by the NPP to milk the state through the Agyapa deal.
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) introduced a Minerals Income Investment Fund (“MIIF”) which has been approved by Parliament despite a walkout by the minority.
The Agreements seek to mortgage Ghana’s future mineral royalties and long term national assets in perpetuity, without any regard to its implication on future national revenue streams.
Per the transaction, the Akufo Addo government will use a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Agyapa Royalties, incorporated as an offshore company in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, a known tax haven, in exchange for an upfront amount of ¢500 million, under the Mineral Development Fund Act, 2018 (Act 978) and its amendment Act, which strangely, was yet to be assented to by the President in accordance with article 106 of the 1992 Constitution to make it law.
According to the agreement, The Government of Ghana will own 51 per cent of the shares of the company and remaining 49 per cent floated on the London Stock Exchange.
In an interview on Atinka FM’s AM Drive with host Ekourba Gyasi, Daniel Okyem Aboagye, advised the Minority to go to court if they suspect something fishy.
“ I am saying this with all humility, if the NDC thinks the NPP has erred in any way , I believe there is an arm of government responsible for handling such grievances. I think the NDC is just scared of the future, looking at how the Akufo-Addo led administration has manned the affairs of the country with over 18,000 projects in just first term”, he added.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu Boatemaa
