Chairman of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, Samuel Atta Akyea, has suggested that Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), might be called upon to provide additional information regarding the $12 million expenditure associated with the terminated Agyapa Minerals Royalties deal.

Atta Akyea noted that Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), where Edward Koranteng disclosed the expenditure, could request a more detailed breakdown of the spending.

Speaking on Joy FM's Top Story regarding corruption and embezzlement allegations leveled by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Atta Akyea commented on the matter.

"Matters of this nature touch on the public purse," and hence should not be left to guesses or speculation as to where the money went.

He suggested it will be prudent to bring him before "...the committee and he should give us the components of this huge sum of money and of course, there are members of the NDC on the committee and he could be drilled to bring understanding on the matter."

However, Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the NDC, asserts that the reckoning for those implicated in the establishment of the Agyapa Royalties scheme is imminent.

He emphasizes the NDC's unwavering commitment to recovering all funds expended on the project.

"The OSP was very clear that the Agyapa deal was illegal because it breached the Public Procurement Act. He said the whole transaction was filled with procurement rigging. He raised issues about breaches and other things like the Public Financial Management Act and even violation of the supreme law of the land, that is the 1992 Constitution.

"All the facts have been outlined clearly in the Corruption Risk Report published by the Office of the Special Prosecutor," he stressed.

Anti-corruption activist Edem Senanu, meanwhile, expresses shock at the funds awarded as consulting fees on the project in spite of public outcry.

He maintains that more investigation into the deal needs to be started.

"I believe the additional probe is very much needed. I am shocked and I am sure civil society organisations will also be shocked that any form of payment were made because we followed this thing closely. We were at the Ministry of Finance doing presentations, we asked for the assumptions leading to the returns that Ghana will have but they were not able to provide us.

"We made our stance clear that this didn't look like it was going to be in the best interest of the country, so it is shocking to hear that money was spent whether for consultancy or whether for an office premise."

Background

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ordered the suspension of the Agyapa deal following a public outcry in 2021.

The government proposed the deal to raise funds through mineral royalties for key infrastructure projects but was eventually suspended after the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and some civil society organisations opposed it.

However, according to the CEO of the Minerals Income Investment Fund, 12 million dollars was expended on the processes to issue the initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange before the suspension.

Responding to whether the Fund did due diligence, Mr Koranteng said “My understanding honourable chair is that the Ministry of Finance procured the services of international consultancy and companies and financial institutions that have done this in the past and that the advice provided was what Ministry of Finance stood on.”

“We started with the Ministry of Finance and from the documents that we have, it is clear that the correct advice was provided on the set-up of a gold royalties company where the streaming of the royalties would benefit Ghana.”