Parliament Can’t Correct Defects Of Agyapa Deal – Haruna Iddrisu

The Minority in Parliament says it maintains its position on the Agyapa Royalties deal as one that is bad.

According to the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, the findings of the corruption risk assessment conducted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor validates the Minority’s concerns about the deal.

Mr. Iddrisu’s comment comes in the wake of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s instruction for the deal to be sent back to Parliament, following Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu’s assessment.

The Minority Leader told Citi News that Parliament cannot correct defects of the agreement.

“Parliament cannot remedy the defects of the transaction in any way possible and that is why we question the transaction. We feel strongly vindicated and Ghanaians will understand why I lost my cool. The Minority is not likely to change its position on Agyapa. We do not support it today, we do not support it tomorrow. We do not support it in the future.”

The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, however, insisted the Minority's claim that the corruption risk assessment vindicates their position is preposterous.

“The thing is you cannot just conjecture from the top of your head. Some of these things are very preposterous. Someone sits somewhere as making definite pronouncements when he has not seen the contents [of the agreement].”

In his corruption risk assessment, Mr. Amidu argued that consultations over the deal were not comprehensive enough.

He further disclosed that the selection and appointment of advisors for the agreement did not meet the “fundamentals of probity, transparency, and accountability.”

Amidu also accused the Finance Ministry of awarding the transaction advisors deal to “surrogates” of the Ministry.

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, however, insisted that his outfit was transparent with the processes that led to the approval of the agreement in Parliament.

---citinewsroom