Frema Busia, the daughter of Ghana’s first and only Prime Minister, Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, has given a damning perspective on the Agyapa mineral royalties deal, saying the deal has more to do with the Akufo-Addo government trying to clean up his act after messing up Ghana’s economy.
Incidentally, Frema Busia is the daughter of one of the foundational fathers of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Though, she points out that the deal is soaked in self-dealing by the President’s cousin Finance Minister, Nana Frema Busia, points out that among other things, the strange decision by the government to incorporate Agyapa in a tax haven is a pointer to the fact that the government is on a desperate economy-salvaging mission.
“The Agyapa deal is a big deal because it is more of a desperate bankruptcy rescue mission, than a complex “Father Christmas” innovation to strengthen our wealth base,” she writes.
According to Madam Busia, who taken the NPP on a number of occasions, President Akufo-Addo has ruined Ghana’s finances and is trying to collateralize the country’s royalty inflows from mining for US$1billion to resuscitate the Economy.
“The Fact is, interest on debt has moved from GHC 10 billion in 2016 to GHC 26 billion under H. E. Akufo Addo dream team of financial experts. Debt to GDP ratio has also moved from 57% to 75% over the same period. Interest and debt amortization is GHC 38 billion per year as against gross revenue of GHC42 billion. This means we have hardly enough to fund recurrent expenditure let alone capital projects,” she jabbed the Akufo Addo administration.
“We have obviously distressed our balance of payments and downgraded our international credit rating. The mortgaged future royalty payment that collateralize and underpin the lump sum payment /IPO has been described as not being a mortgage.”
Madam Frema mocked the NPP government: “Our Vice President has even earned the unenviable title H.E. “Borrowmia”. Indeed the globetrotting excessive borrowing by the “lalasulala” economic management team contradicts key promises. We have run into an economic stalemate. They have failed to harness the supposed sufficient internal revenue sources as promised.”
Frema points out that the Agyapa deal was cooked by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta and Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo, a conspiratorial fact that smells up with corrupt self-dealing.
And for their conspiracy, the two have rewarded themselves handsomely, with Osafo Maafo, positioning his son, Kofi Bosompem Osafo Maafo, as CEO of Agyapa, while Ken Ofori-Atta gets to position his investment brokerage firm, Databank Financial Services as transaction advisor, in what has been termed an “Akyem Mafia” squad.
Meanwhile, the beneficial members of the Mafia who has been fingered as another interested party in the transaction is Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, a powerful cousin of President Akufo-Addo, whose law firm, AAL, has been appointed legal advisor in spite of Ghana having an Attorney General.
While the deal’s main aim is to salvage the country’s comatose economy messed up by Akufo-Addo, Frema writes that creaming off money to oil the NPP’s 2020 election campaign machinery is also in the detail, hence Ken Ofori-Atta’s adamant stance that the deal will go through whether Ghanaians like it or not.