We remain opposed to Agyapa deal – Mahama

• Posted on May 16, 2022May 16, 2022
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Former President, John Dramani Mahama, has reiterated his party’s opposition to the Agyapa Royalties deal, following recent public discussions on the subject.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, the 2020 flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), indicated that the NDC will vigorously oppose the deal; as government is yet to clarify certain allegations, surrounding the transaction.

“As I emphasised in my presentation on Ghana at a Crossroads: “Government must clarify reports which are rife in the investment community that it intends to use the Heritage Fund as collateral to raise a US$2 billion loan from a consortium of banks.

We wish to serve notice that if this turns out to be true, we in the NDC will oppose it vigorously in the same way that we oppose the Agyapa deal.

We cannot support the collateralization of every single source of future revenue just to finance today’s consumption”, the post said.

Mahama’s comments are in the wake of a recent call by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, for a re-look at the controversial Agyapa Royalties Agreement, instead of abandoning it.

Mr. Ofori-Atta said the deal must be taken through the appropriate process in order to make it work because it could reduce the country’s debt exposure.

Speaking at a press briefing to announce details of the African Development Bank’s 2022 Annual General Meeting on Thursday, the Finance Minister explained that the Agyapa deal “is not about whether the monetisation of mineral royalties or listing of the company is bad or good, it is good because that is how you raise resources”.

However, following these remarks, scores of concerned citizens, have rehashed their concerns with the deal, and urged government to discard it altogether.