Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta says government is putting in place measures to ensure that the public is adequately educated on the Agyapa Royalties Agreement.
This follows the ongoing debates about the benefit of the deal to the country and allegations that the processes leading to the agreement have been shrouded in secrecy.
Currently, some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) as well as the Minority in Parliament are demanding the suspension of the deal to pave way for further deliberations and public consultations
Among other threats, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama have stated that if they are voted into power in December they will not respect the Agyapa.
But the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, speaking on Newsfile on JoyNews, said plans are far advance for documents related to the deal to be published on a dedicated website.
This, he believe will allow Ghanaians an opportunity to study and understand the deal and its benefits.
“We will get a little more literature out,” he said. “And that will be made public on a website. We will also seek audience with the Council of State, National House of Chiefs and others to let the people know that this is part of a plan to strengthen our financial services sector.”
Background
Social media has been awash with series of debates on the Agyapa Minerals Royalties deal since Parliament approved it on August 14.
The agreement, said to be in line with the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act, 2018 (Act 978), was passed without support from the Minority in Parliament.
The new agreement will enable the country to use a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Agyapa Royalties Limited, to secure about $1 billion to finance large infrastructural projects.
This, according to government, is because, Agyapa, operating as an independent private sector entity, will be able to raise funds from the capital market, both locally and internationally, as an alternative to the conventional debt capital market transactions.
The funds, which are expected to be raised from the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), will be long-term capital, without a corresponding increase in Ghana’s total debt stock.