A group of civil society organisations (CSOs) has called for investigations and prosecution of officials who may have breached any laws in the Agyapa Royalties deal.

The group of 15 CSOs working on extractives, anti-corruption, and good governance sectors says the deal is completely defective and beyond repair.

Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu had revealed in a Corruption Risk Assessment report that the Agyapa transaction was tied to conflict of interest, allocations among others.

The report, which was presented to President Nana Akufo-Addo on 16 October, also indicated that the involvement of Databank Financial Services as a local rider company was a manipulation by the Finance Ministry.

‘We call for the entire set of Agyapa transaction to be rolled back and transaction agreement abrogated. Parliament cannot repair the defects’, Dr Steve Manteaw said.

Speaking at a news conference in Accra, Manteaw, who spoke on behalf of the CSOs, requested that ‘steps be taken to investigate and prosecute breaches of any law’.

He said, ‘In this regard, we challenge the OSP to take the next logical step to investigate and prosecute any evidence of corrupt acts in accordance with his prosecutorial mandate.

‘The abrogation of the Agyapa transaction should lay the grounds for a more open and consultative process for options and solutions to getting the best value for our mineral resources’.

The country’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, had in a response to President Akufo-Addo stated that the ministry carried out due diligence with regard to the processes that led to the approval of the deal.

CSOs had asked the government of the West African country to suspend the deal until all documents tied to its establishment and its owners have been disclosed.

Agyapa Royalties was established by the government through the Minerals Income Investment Fund.

Source: Joy Online

Photo source: Graphic Online