Drop Agyapa deal now –Alliance of CSOs warns Nana
—- says it is inherently illegal
Alliance of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the country have kicked against the Agyapa deal and expressed the view that the deal is bad for the interest of Ghanaians.
They also served notice, that they would take court action against the Akufo-Addo government to stop the deal if all sense of engagement failed including the sponsors having their way through in parliament as they did on E-levy.
The Alliance of CSOs disclosed his at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.
A spokesperson for the Alliance, Mr. Kofi Bentil who addressed the media pointed out that the Agyapa deal is counterproductive to the interest of the state hence they will every legitimate step within the remit of CSOs and as nationals to stop the deal.
“Agyapa is inherently illegal. The President holds Minerals in trust. They are not the President’s property or his government. So it is required that the agreement be returned to Parliament for approval. Refusing to do so means we will go to court”, Mr. Bentil claimed.
“We have trust in the court but even when the courts fail us, we have the streets”, he added.
The CSOs contended that the establishment of Agyapa in Jersey deliberately cedes control of the royalties to independent directors appointed by the sponsors of the transaction.
“Littered through the agreement are ironclad clauses that achieve a simple goal: the investors who will buy 49%, not Ghana will take all the critical decisions. If someone wanted to ensure that in the future all of Ghana’s vital gold revenues will be controlled by a group of about six or seven people carefully handpicked by a few Ghanaian politicians and their friends in investment banks in London, this would be the most effective method to ensure so”, the group stressed.
According to Mr. Bentil, the so-called transparency promised by the government after the listing on London Stock Exchange is a fluke to divert attention from the actual threat to the public asset adding that by the time the Agyapa is listed, the corruption (alienation of public assets would have already happened.
The CSOs have therefore assured the public that they will not renege on their quest to ensure that the Agyapa deal which is collateralizing Ghana’s mineral resources for 500million dollars by the government does not see the light of the day.
Some of the CSOs members present at the press briefing were the Executive Director of ACEP, Mr . Benjamin Boakye, the Chairman of Oil and Gas Committee of AGI, Mr. Kwame Jantuah, Mr. Franklin Cudjoe of IMANI Ghana and Mensah Thompson of ASEPA and others.
Source: expressnewsghana.com
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