Martin Amidu's findings on Agyapa deal vindicates position taken by CSOs - Dr Manteaw

Chairman of the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas, Dr Steve Manteaw says the findings of the Special Prosecutor vindicate the position taken by the CSOs to the effect that the deal was not in the interest of Ghana, therefore, should be reworked on.

The CSO rejected the deal when it was first introduced on the floor of parliament.

Ghana’s legislature approved the controversial agreement on Friday, August 14 despite a protest from the Minority.

READ ALSO: Agyapa deal: Send transaction back to Parliament for scrutiny – Akufo-Addo to Ofori-Atta after Amidu’s assessment

A group of CSOs led by Dr Manteaw noted that the government of Ghana and Parliament rushed in approving the agreement.

The deal was halted and subsequently referred to the Special Prosecutor's office for probing.

He has concluded investigations into the deal and handed out his findings to President Akufo-Addo who directed the deal goes back to Parliament for further scrutiny.

Speaking on this development in an interview with TV3’s Martin Asiedu-Darteh on the News@10 Monday, November 2, Dr Manteaw said: “The CSOs stand vindicated because we said the deal should go back to parliament for it to be reworked on.”

“The president intervention was a bit too late and disappointing. Where was the president when we raised issues with it especially conflict of interest? We were very surprised that the president did not find it needful at the time to intervene.”

Corruption Risk Assessment

In August this year, the OSP, as part of its mandate, requested from the Finance Ministry documents regarding the special purpose vehicle (SPV) which help the country secure about $1 billion to finance infrastructural projects.

This followed criticisms from Civil Society Organisations about red flags in the transaction.

The Minority in Parliament has described the deal as one shrouded in secrecy adding that its nature had the propensity to breed corruption, a position that government has vehemently rejected.

The agreement which is said to be in line with the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act, 2018 (Act 978), was passed without support from the Minority in Parliament.

Meanwhile, an Initial Public Offer (IPO) which was put on hold, remains suspended ahead of the disclosure of the findings of the OSP’s corruption risk analysis meant to identify potential weaknesses which may present opportunities for corruption to occur in the arrangement.