NPP gov't vindicated in controversial Agyapa deal — Ahiagbah

The CCJ threw out a suit against the government challenging the propriety of the Agyapa deal after three anti-corruption groups — Transparency International, Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), and the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) — dragged the government to the CCJ in December 2020, seeking an order to halt the deal.

The court dismissed the suit on July 10, this year but came out with its full judgment and reasoning on Wednesday, August 16, 2023.

The Director of Communications of the NPP, Richard Ahiagbah, said the government is okay with the ruling.

In a statement, Ahiagbah stated that there was no wrongdoing with the spirited move by the government to leverage our mineral incomes to accelerate development.

He explained that the entity aimed to publicly list up to 49 percent of its shares on the London Stock Exchange, sparking extensive debates and accusations in the lead-up to the 2020 general election.

Ahiagba praised the ECOWAS Court's ruling, emphasising that it solidified the government's steadfast commitment to transparent and legitimate practices.

He commended the GII and GACC for utilising their right to seek legal recourse and stated that the court's verdict had comprehensively addressed their concerns.

The controversial Agyapa deal which is a Mineral Royalty Limited agreement with the government of Ghana has dominated the media landscape since Parliament approved it.

Know more about the Agyapa deal

The Parliament of Ghana passed the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018 which establishes the Fund to manage the equity interests of Ghana in mining companies and receive royalties on behalf of the government.

The fund is supposed to manage and invest these royalties and revenue from equities for higher returns for the benefit of the country.

The law allows the fund to establish Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to use for the appropriate investments. Last month, the government introduced an amendment to the act to ensure that the SPVs have unfettered independence.

The approval will enable the country to use a special purpose vehicle, Agyapa Royalties Limited to secure about $1 billion to finance large infrastructural projects.

In line with that, Agyapa, which will operate as an independent private sector entity, will be able to raise funds from the capital market, both locally and internationally, as an alternative to conventional debt capital market transactions.

The funds, which are expected to be raised from the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), will be long-term capital, without a corresponding increase in Ghana’s total debt stock and hence without a public debt repayment obligation.

Some said the deals are valued for money whiles others referred to it that it's a stinking and corrupt deal by the government where appointees of the NPP are engaged to do.

The Agyapa Royalties deal is part of the current government’s strategy to beat the long-standing problem of lack of capital for developmental projects.

Over the years, the government under different Executive presidencies has tried to look for money by going to the IMF, the capital market, or the international bond market.

These three main sources of capital are expensive. Interest rates on the bond markets are generally high and because the tenure is short, Ghana risks falling into high debt distress.

And with Ghana's current poor credit rating and the effects of the pandemic, the government needs access to cheaper sources of capital.

A deal like the Agyapa Royalties agreement, therefore, is among the strategies governments across the world have adopted to raise money on the global financial market. It involves securitising future flows of revenue with proceeds from the extractive sector.

The controversy over the Agyapa Royalties deal started on August 14, 2020, when the majority of Members of Parliament secured the numbers to pass the agreement.

Although the Minority staged a walked out over the deal it was finally passed.

The government in July 2020 introduced an amendment to the Act to ensure that the SPVs that the Fund would establish to manage investments get unrestricted independence.

On the back of the amendment and the original provisions of the act, the Minerals Income Investment Fund set up an offshore limited liability company known as Agyapa Royalties Limited (previously Asaase Royalties Limited).

The Agyapa Royalties Ltd is incorporated in Bailieick of Jersey in the UK, a tax haven. It has been incorporated in a tax haven to cut out the associated high tax charges to the returns that will accrue to the state from the investments.

Agyapa Royalties Limited is registered in Ghana as an external company.

Operations of Agyapa Royalties

Agyapa Royalties Limited will trade shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange for the private market.

Mineral Income Investment Fund will remain the majority shareholder.

ARL will raise between $500 million and $750 million for the government to use for developmental initiatives – the government has revealed the four key areas of investment will be education expenditure, primary capital, health, and infrastructural development.

Future resources from gold royalties will go to ARL shareholders instead of the Mineral Investment Fund and for that matter government. Essentially, the government is mortgaging expected royalties from gold in exchange for about $500 million – $750 million from ARL.