Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition in collaboration with Africa Center For Energy Policy (ACEP) has on March, 11, 2021, sensitized media practitioners on the Agyapa royalties deal procurement processes and its repurcussion it has on the people of Ghana.
The project sponsored by OXFAM is to sensitize media practitioners on the Agyapa deal to create to awareness of citizens response on the the deal.
In a welcome address the Executive Secretary for GACC, Mrs. Beauty Emefa Nartey, said the workshop is not discredit any political party but educate media persons on the judicious use of Ghana mineral resources amidst Agyapa.
She said the media should not see the Agyapa deal as a usual NDC, NPP banter but a serious national issue that could ruin the nation billions of dollars.
During facilitation Executive Director for ISODEC and immediate former chairman for public Interest and Accountability Committee(PIAC) Dr. Steve Manteaw lamented how negligent and corrupt our leaders could be in the management of our mineral resources.
He explained that Ghana has been mining Gold since Gold Coast day but we are still poor as a result of mismanagement of our mineral resources.
Explaining the legal aspect of our mineral resources which include Petroleum Management Act and Minerals Income Investment Fund act. Dr. Manteaw said while PMA was consultative policy which lead to creation of PIAC same cannot be said for MIIF.
He said though MIIF has it own short falls, AGYAPA is not even in compliance with MIIF.
He said the deal is a bad one and indicated that the bill was secretly done and was bulldozed through parliament so that the citizenry don’t get to know what it is about.
Dr. Manteaw said mineral resources are for the people of Ghana and task people to manage it for us and if they do not protect resources, we the public must rise against their decision.
Executive Director for ACEP Mr. Benjamin Boakye took the media persons through the deal explaining why the media should create the awareness and draw public attention to the deal.
He said the public is meant to believe that only 12 leases are on Agyapa. But it will interest all to know that 48 leases are on the deal which covers 95 percent of all our mineral resources of Gold as bauxite and Quarry are not yielding much.
He explained that any project site discovered under the 48 lease is part of Agyapa.
He also explained that the duration period from 3-15 years as we are meant to believe is not true, as and when lease discovers new project sites the deal continue to exist.
He said the most dangerous aspect is valuing the entire mineral on the deal to $1billion dollars yet to be published on London stock exchange with 50 percent of the 1billion on investors.
Mr Boakye also said the public should resist this because, Ghana owns 50 percent of shares of the company however, Government does not have
1. Voting right
2. major decision taken
3. cannot control the company as it is independent.
Worse of it, the investors will now look at all these and give us any proportion.
He said they are not preaching against a special purpose vehicle but said with this, it is a bad deal.
Mr. Charles Gyamfi Ofori explained the special purpose vehicle and Business as usual to say per cost analysis, Business as Usual is better than Special Purpose Vehicle.
Source: yagbonradioonline
