President Nana Akufo-Addo has stated that government will soon engage Parliament on the withdrawn Agyapa Royalties deal.
President Akufo-Addo in his State of the Nation (SONA) today Tuesday, 9th March 2021 indicated government will engage parliament on the future of the controversial Agyepa deal.
The Agyapa Royalties transaction that failed in the 7th Parliament shall be resurrected in this 8th Parliament. The deal failed due to controversies surroundings it. The controversial Special Purpose Vehicle, Agyapa Royalties Limited was established by the government through the Minerals Income Investment Fund.
However, Ghanaians kicked against the deal including some 15 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) under the umbrella name Alliance of CSOs working on Extractive, Anti-Corruption, and Good Governance who demanded its immediate suspension of the implementation.
Former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu did a Corruption Risk Assessment on the Agyapa Royalties deal and described it as a deal fraught with corruption and suspiciously conceived by the then Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Attah, and the Presidency to serve only a few people in the NPP.
In November 2020, the President directed then Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to send the deal back to Parliament after the Assessment, but due to pressure from civil society and other organizations, it was finally withdrawn from parliament.
Filed By : Agaatorne Douglas Asaah / awakenewsroom.com
