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Inusah Abdulai Fuseini, a senior member of Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, says the Special Prosecutor does not deserve praise for his Corruption Assessment Report on the Agyapa Royalties Agreement.
According to him, Martin Amidu’s report did not raise any new concerns, but only highlighted the problems pointed out by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the minority in Parliament.
Speaking to JoyNews’ Evans Mensah on PM Express, the Tamale Central Member of Parliament said Ghanaians should not take minority work for granted as it is through “them that democracy and transparency prevail.”
“Nobody has applauded the minority for this scandal of the Agyapa agreement. The voice of the minority is lost because people take the work we do for granted. It was when the minority strongly opposed this agreement and left Parliament that the issue came to the fore, ”he said.
His comment follows an earlier claim by the NDC that the government should not only withdraw the deal, but also take appropriate steps to recover money paid to some people involved.
The NDC had threatened to back his claim with a series of protests and legal action.
At a press conference, Secretary General Johnson Asiedu Nketia said President Akufo-Addo had seven days to take such action or face his anger.
“The NDC hereby demands that President Akufo-Addo recover the billions of state cedis that his government has illegally paid under the murky ‘Agyapa’ deal to Databank, which is owned by his cousin and minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta; African Legal Associates, owned by another cousin of hers, Gabby Otchere Darko; and its foreign buyers, within the next 7 days.
“Failing to do so, the NDC and other related progressive forces will embark on a series of protests and legal actions to ensure that every pesewa paid to these companies is returned to the state for nation building.” Asiedu Nketia said.
Background
The Agyapa Accord, which is said to be in line with the Mineral Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Law 2018 (Law 978) was approved by Parliament on August 14.
The new agreement will allow the country to use a special purpose vehicle (SPV), Agyapa Royalties Limited, to secure around $ 1 billion to finance large infrastructure projects.
However, the transaction has met with strong opposition from members of the NDC, some civil society organizations and a cross-section of Ghanaians.
Subsequently, the Special Prosecutor’s Office recommended that the government stop the planned launch of an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Agyapa Royalties agreement.
According to Martin Amidu, the move was to give his team the opportunity to conclude their ongoing corruption risk assessment.
After presenting the report to the Presidency on October 15, President Akufo-Addo ordered the Finance Minister to send the agreement to Parliament for further scrutiny.
