Ken Ofori-Atta
The Ministry of Finance has held virtual talks with faith-based organizations and the Social Partnership Council (SPC) on the controversial Agyapa Minerals Royalties deal.
The separate meetings forms part of the Ministry’s stakeholder engagement and consultations drive to deepen the understanding of the Agyapa Royalty transaction.
Among the faith-based organizations were the Catholic Bishops Conference, the Christian Council, the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, the National Associations of Charismatic and Christian Churches and the Ghana Charismatic Bishops Conference.
The Social Partnership Council is made up of the Labour Unions, Ghana Employers Association and Government, represented by the Ministries of Finance and Labour Relations.
A statement issued by the Public Relations Unit of the Finance Ministry says the issues discussed during the meetings included the nature and benefits of the transaction, ownership, transparency and domain of registration, initial valuation, future prospects as well as the need to continue to engage with all stakeholders to get their buy-in and support.
It says the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Attta, in his opening remarks, provided the background to the Agyapa programme and the need to take advantage of the current all-time high gold prices despite tighter financing conditions due to the covid-19 pandemic.
According to the statement, the minister highlighted the weaknesses in the current framework for managing Ghana’s mineral royalties which does not allow targeted use of and accounting for mineral royalties.
By Melvin Tarlue