The Alliance of CSO’s has called on government to be more transparent with the proceeds and everything pertaining to the Agyapa Minerals Income Investment transaction saying that, if it had been orchestrated more openly and under a transparent regime Ghanaians would not be raising numerous concerns and allegations like we are seeing now.
At a news conference held in Accra the association made known that, government was not being transparent with the proceeds of the deal and as such have left many questioning the deal and have also left many questions unanswered. They then compared it to the transparency and accountability associated with the implementation of the Ghana Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA).
“Indeed, the transparency and accountability provisions in Ghana’s Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) has been hailed world-wide as a best practice. The 2017 global Resource Governance placed Ghana’s petroleum sector governance at 13th position among 89 countries; and the best in Africa. Its value is reflected in the fact that Ghanaians today have adequate information on how their petrol revenues are being managed on their behalf.”
They further went on to say that, what the government was intending to do with the mineral royalties will not have been permissible under PRMA.
The association therefore called on the President, Nana Akuffo- Addo to suspend the implementation of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) until all documents relating to the establishment of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and its beneficial owner have been disclosed adding that as concerned Ghanaians they sought to access the transaction documents on the MIIF’s website only to realize there was none.
They also urged the president to establish a multi stake holder process to review all options to optimize the mineral royalties in order to secure risk-free revenue to the state saying that,
“Even though commodity prices tend to be cyclical, gold has only oscillated with 20 percent, which makes it a more stable commodity than oil. And with oil losing demand growth to alternative fuels, gold is expected to be a stable source of revenue.
The association also called on the president to acknowledge that, although the MIIF and its SPV may be legal without public input, it fundamentally goes against his pact with the people of Ghana, particularly the mining communities to cede 20 percent of mineral royalties to develop the communities.
The Association then called on all Ghanaians regardless of their political persuasion to join hands in safeguarding the national interest.
Related Story: https://thevaultznews.com/2020/08/25/inadequate-consultation-responsible-for-lack-of-public-support-on-agyapa-royalties-deal-alliance-of-csos-to-government/
