The Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has revealed that the office of the Attorney General is reviewing the Agyapa Royalties deal before it goes back to Parliament.
Speaking on Newsfile Saturday, he said a critical attention will be paid to the issues which were previously raised about the Agyapa deal and addressed it before it is returned to Parliament.
“The Attorney Generals Department is working on it, he has had the opportunity to do a review of what the special prosecutor wrote about it and then the substantive work and is in the process of formally communicating the legal advice on it.”
Mr Oppong Nkrumah’s comment comes after President Akufo-Addo said the government will engage Parliament on the steps it intends to take on the future of the Agyapa transaction.
Delivering his State of the Nation Address (SONA) Tuesday, he hinted that the controversial deal that failed to see the light of day in the 7th Parliament will be resurrected in the 8th Parliament.
Reacting to his comment, the minority caucuses opposed the president decision stating that, they will reject the Agyapa deal if it is brought back to the House for consideration.
Before the deal was thrown out during the 7th Parliament, former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu’s Corruption Risk Assessment on Agyapa deal raised red flags over the deal, describing the deal as fraught with corruption.
Mr Amidu’s assessment triggered several calls from Ghanaians and some civil society organisations calling for a suspension of the deal, insisting it was not in the interest of Ghana.
Meanwhile, the Ofoase-Ayirebi MP insisted that Akufo-Addo’s decision to bring back the transaction deal is to have a second look at the deal and resolve all substantial issues which will benefit the interest of Ghanaians.
He indicated that the Akufo-Addo administration has a good intention in monetising the countries mineral royalties but should there be a concern to pull down the deal, government will do that.
“Assuming that the attorney general complete his work comes to cabinet and say let’s not go ahead with the transaction, the president will come back to Parliament and say the future of the Agyapa transaction is that it will not go ahead.”
