The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said they are keenly following ongoing proceedings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, on the report of the Auditor-General on Public Boards, Corporations and other statutory bodies for the period ended 31 December 2022.
According to them, the ongoing PAC hearings, have brought to the fore, some very disturbing issues that border on corruption and abuse of public funds by certain state institutions.
Of particular interest to them, is the latest revelation about the colossal expenditure made by the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) on the botched “Agyapa” Royalties deal, the party said.
During the Committee’s consideration of the report of the Auditor-General on the accounts of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) for the period ended 31 December 2022, the Chief Executive Officer of MIIF, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng disclosed that amount of USD$12 million was spent on the botched “Agyapa” Royalties deal.
“When the matter was probed further, the CEO of MIIF stated that, this colossal amount was spent on the setting up of the stinky “Agyapa” Royalties vehicle, the payment of consultancy fees, the rental of office space and the processes leading to the Initial Public Offering towards the listing of ‘Agyapa’ Royalties on the London Stock Exchange.
“The Ghanaian public was taken aback by these disclosures, which add to the never-ending list of corruption scandals that continue to plague the nation under the watch of President AkufoAddo and his corrupt protégé, Alhaji Bawumia. For us in the National Democratic Congress, this disclosure did not come as a surprise. We are on record to have stated that the ‘Agyapa’ Royalties deal was yet another phoney scheme cooked by the corrupt and nepotistic Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government, for the sole purpose of appropriating the mineral royalties of the country for themselves in perpetuity,” National Communications of the NDC Sammy Gyamfi said while addressing journalists during the party’s ‘Moment of Truth’ Press Conference in Accra on February 19.
Mr. Gyamfi further accused the Akufo-Addo government of fraudulently scheming the deal to reap Ghanaians off.
“The flagbearer of the NDC and incoming President, John Mahama, at the time, vowed to cancel the fraudulent Agyapa royalties deal if he won the 2020 general elections. That position has not changed. The OSP found that payments were fraudulently made to some entities under the deal. Entities like Databank, a company founded and still owned by Ken Ofori-Atta, the immediate Finance Minister, and cousin of President Akufo-Addo. The Office of the Special Prosecutor also found similar illegal payments were made to Africa Legal Associates, a law firm belonging to Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko. All these payments were found by the OSP to be unlawful, yet these payments did not benefit the country in any way. The money has gone into the hands of the President, Ken Ofori-Atta, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, and his few cronies.”
“We have stated times without number that the Agyapa Royalties deal was fraudulent, cooked, and schemed by the corrupt Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government. For the sole purpose of appropriating mineral royalties of the country for themselves in perpetuity. Ghanaians will recall that during the intense public debate on the infamous Agyapa deal, the NDC took a principled decision to stand with the people of Ghana. We kicked against the whole Agyapa arrangement. On grounds that the country’s mineral royalties have been grossly undervalued under the opaque deal. And was going to deny future governments and generations future minerals for development. It is the height of cruelty that the government of President Akufo-Addo and Bawumia engaged in this naked thievery and brazen abuse of the public purse,” he added.
Background
Parliament passed the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act, 2018 (MIIF Act 978) with the key objective of maximizing the country’s mineral wealth for the benefit of Ghanaians while ensuring that receiving royalties from gold mining companies was sustainable.
The law was amended to enable it to incorporate subsidiaries and to use it as a special purpose vehicle to do business across the world.
The main subsidiary of the MIIF and holding company, Agyapa Royalties Investment Ltd, would have been listed on the London Stock Exchange, while its subsidiary, ARG Royalties Ltd, would have been quoted on the Ghana Stock Exchange, both through initial public offerings.
The company was to be be responsible for managing 75.6 percent of the country’s royalty inflow from the 12 gold mining companies that currently operate in Ghana, with four more expected to come on stream.
That was to enable the country to raise about $1 billion to finance mining concessions in Ghana and across Africa.
Following the public uproar that greeted the move and the corruption risk assessment submitted by a former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, to the President., President Akufo-Addo in November 2020, instructed the Minister of Finance to resubmit the agreements supporting the Agyapa deal to Parliament for the approval process to start all over again.