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Akufo-Addo is mortgaging and selling everything in Ghana – John Mahama laments

Former President John Dramani Mahama has accused his successor President Nana Akufo-Addo of “mortgaging the future of the youth.”

Akufo-Addo is mortgaging and selling everything in Ghana – John Mahama laments

Mahama was responding to reports that the NPP government was planning to re-introduce the Agyapa royalties deal.

He said the Akufo-Addo government has mortgaged and sold every valuable mineral in Ghana and now have nothing left to exchange for loans.

“They [Akufo-Addo government] are mortgaging Ghana for everything. They have sold everything for loans,” Mahama said on Cape FM.

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“Now they don’t have anything to sell anymore. It is our gold that is left, that is the Agyapa they want to do."

In August 2020, Parliament in line with the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act, 2018 (Act 978) approved agreements to allow the country to derive maximum value from its mineral resources and monetise the mineral income accruing to Ghana in a sustainable and responsible manner.

The move gave Agyapa Royalties Limited the right to secure about $1 billion to enable the government to finance large infrastructural projects.

The Minority in Parliament, however, boycotted the deal and accused the government of mortgaging Ghana’s gold resources.

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Meanwhile, a coalition of CSOs in the mining industry also kicked against the controversial agreement.

The Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, subsequently waded in to conduct a corruption risk assessment of the controversial Agyapa deal.

In his risk assessment report, Mr. Amidu called for a suspension of the scheduled Initial Public Offer (IPO) on the Agyapa royalties.

Acting on the report, President Akufo-Addo directed that the Agyapa deal be sent back to parliament for review.

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Mahama, who has been a strong critic of the Agyapa agreement, believes the idea shouldn’t even be entertained.

“Because they see that they’ve sold the utensils, they’ve sold the chairs in the hall, the bed in the bedroom has been sold, now they are looking for the next item to sell.

“They have settled on the windows to sell. That is our gold, which they want to sell this time. They want to use that to go and collect over one billion dollars,” the ex-President added.

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