Razak Kojo Poku
The Agyapa Royalties deal has received an endorsement from a public commentator who describes it as an excellent deal with the potential of advancing the socioeconomic and infrastructural needs of the country.
Razak Kojo Opoku, who is also the President and Founder of the Concerned Voters Movement (CVM), reacting favourably to the President’s announcement of the possibility of returning the Agyapa deal to Parliament, stated that it was crafted with good and genuine intentions and must be made to succeed.
The deal, he said, would leverage the mineral royalties for the overall benefit of the country, he stressed, adding that “the decision of the government to list the Agyapa Royalties on the stock market was aimed at raising revenue for national development and it was never for the personal benefit of family of Akufo-Addo.
He dismissed the opposition to the deal by some CSOs, describing their stance as “mischievous.”
He referred gleefully to the Finance Ministry’s engagement with CSOs to apprise them with details about the deal and to listen to their views as a positive step.
This followed the issues, he said, raised by the Minority in Parliament and the CSOs.
Continuing, he recalled how in accordance with the advice of the then Special Prosecutor, the government referred the Agyapa Royalties deal to Parliament for proper scrutiny, value for money audit, transparency and accountability.
This was not to be, as according to him, “unfortunately, the Seventh Parliament could not deal with the Agyapa issues before the dissolution on the January 6, 2021.”
The resubmission of the subject to the Eighth Parliament, in his view, therefore is appropriate.
He said that President Akufo-Addo, planning to send the subject back to Parliament given the hung state of the House, “clearly demonstrates that the NPP government wants the best ever deal for the Agyapa Royalties, and we need to commend President Akufo-Addo for such a laudable bold decision.”
The move, he explained, would ensure national consensus building for the deal and clear, as he put it, “all doubts and achieve maximum transparency.”
The ongoing propaganda being spearheaded by the pro-NDC groups against the deal requires such an action to deal it a curing blow.
The public confidence required in such matters could only come about through a deliberation of the House of Parliament, he said.
By A.R. Gomda