Do not threaten investors when the sovereign republic is out there raising resources- Information Minister

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has described as “unpatriotic” the resort to threats by some senior politicians to possible investors in the contended Agyapa Mineral Royalties deal.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, the sector Minister registered his displeasure over the act calling their actions “irresponsible” and an impediment to government’s efforts at rounding up resources to operationalize the Agyapa Mineral Royalties deal.

 “What we find unpatriotic as a Majority is that it is not right that when the government of Ghana is in the middle of transactions like this you have senior politicians going out there threatening investors that if you participate in this we will not honor it.

“We think it is unpatriotic. We think it is not responsible. We think that if you have challenges you can raise those challenges, you can raise those questions, but do not threaten investors when the sovereign republic is out there raising resources”.

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah

The agreement between government and the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) company was approved in line with the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act, 2018 (Act 978).

Essentially, the deal will enable the country to use a special purpose vehicle (SPV), Agyapa Royalties Limited, to secure about $1 billion to finance large infrastructural projects.

In view of this, Agyapa, which will operate 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 a long-term capital, without a corresponding increase in Ghana’s total debt stock.

However, this has been disputed by the Minority, with the opposition staging a walkout from the House.

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah’s comments comes on the back of the National Democratic Congress’ Flag bearer, John Mahama’s statement that his “government will not respect the deal” which in his opinion was shrouded in secrecy.

Mahama argued that “the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) could have played the same role as Agyapa if the Akufo-Addo led government wanted to be transparent.

“Obviously this government has lost the fight against corruption. Our people are tired of corruption, it demotivates them and they want that leader who is in office, who will not only investigate former appointees but also investigate people who engage in corruption in his era.

 “This President is not willing to fight corruption. Depending on who you are in his administration, you can do whatever you want and get away with it because he will personally clear you and say that nothing untoward has happened”, Mr. Mahama said.