Attorney General nominee, Godfred Dame, has disclosed that, former Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo was never in opposition to the Agyapa Royalties deal.
Speaking during his vetting on Friday February 12 before the Parliament Appointment Committee, Mr. Dame said that, “in all respect with what Madam Gloria Akuffo did in respect of the Agyapa Royalties transaction; I am not opposed at all to anything she did. Secondly, I am indicating for the record that the former Attorney General [Gloria Akuffo] was never opposed to the transaction and that is clear in all the documents available to me”.
The Attorney General’s office which was under the leadership of Gloria Akuffo, last year, had described the controversial Agyapa Royalties agreement as cumbersome and not in the interest of Ghana. The Attorney General’s office in an opinion piece had explained that the benefits Ghana is expected to stem from the agreement are limited, given the strict obligations and sanctions attached to the deal.
The AG office opined that with the nature and purpose of the Minerals Royalties Investment Agreement and the related agreements, “there will be a one-off payment of the sum of $1 billion”. That notwithstanding, it insisted as unclear the exact benefits which will be accrued to the country in fund other than “the one-off payment, considering that this agreement runs in perpetuity with stringent responsibilities of the fund throughout its lifespan”.
Accordingly, it stated that the terms and conditions of the agreement are quite cumbersome as provisions are skewed against the interest of the Fund and the Republic. As a result, both the Fund and the Republic have strict obligations and liabilities with punitive consequences in the event of a breach or default while the other contracting parties are to use their best efforts to ensure the execution of the transaction.
Responding to a question posed by North Tongu Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa before the Appointments Committee of Parliament to explain the reasons for discounting the case, Mr. Dame noted that the case which was held in the case of Gregory Afoko Vs the Attorney General that the powers of the Attorney General “is not questionable, it cannot be prodded by anybody including the court.
Additionally, Mr. Dame stated that the former Attorney General Madam Gloria Akuffo was not authorized to give explanations for suspending the trial of ‘Aisha’ Huang and four other Chinese nationals who were alleged to have engaged in illegal mining activities in the country.
“I was not the Attorney General, it is only Madam Gloria Akufo, my former boss, who will know and indeed she is not bound, as I said, even to disclose the reasons to the court and so the reason for the entry of the Nolle prosequi has not been published and I wouldn’t know why”.
On December 19, 2018, without giving any reasons, the State Attorney, Mercy Arthur, presented an application for nolle prosequi to the Accra High Court that was presided over by Justice Charles Ekow Baiden.
