The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is pledging to investigate and retrieve all monies pumped into the botched Agyapa Royalties deal if it wins the 2024 general elections.
The party said the US$12 million spent on the deal constituted a wilful financial loss to the state and persons culpable must not be left off the hook.
The NDC’s resolves come after Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Income Investment Fund, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, disclosed that US$12 million was spent on the deal.
According to Mr Koranteng, the amount was spent on the Agyapa Special Purpose Vehicle, the payment of consultancy fees, rental of office accommodation and processes leading to the initial public offering towards the listing of the entity on the London Stock Exchange.
Addressing a media conference in Accra yesterday, the National Communication Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, said persons associated with the wilful expenditure on the Agyapa deal would be made to face the full rigors of the law.
“The Agyapa scam clearly amounts to willfully causing financial loss to the state and the culprits of same must not go unpunished.
“The next NDC government will investigate the stinky US$12 million Agyapa scam, retrieve all illegal payments made under same, and ensure that all perpetrators are prosecuted.
“The day of accountability is fast approaching and no one found culpable will be left off the hook by the next NDC government. This is a solemn pledge and our charge to keep, when, by the grace of God and the Ghanaian people, the NDC assumes the reins of government in 2025,” Mr Gyamfi assured.
All well-meaning Ghanaians, in the view of Sammy Gyamfi, repose huge trust and confidence in John Mahama, the flagbearer of the NDC, to pursue and retrieve for the state public funds that may have been lost to all “looting schemes” such as Agyapa, PDS scandal, BOST contaminated fuel scandal, among others that have rocked the Akufo-Addo/ Bawumia government.
The NDC flagbearer, Mr Gyamfi said, had demonstrated both in government and out of government that he detests corruption and would not condone corruption nor shield perpetrators of corrupt acts, and that the sharp sword against corruption would cut both sides if he wins the 2024 polls.
Mr Mahama’s commitment to the fight against corruption and to hold public officers accountable for their stewardship, the NDC’s Chief communicator said, was unmatched compared to his main contender, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who is bearing the flag for the governing New Patriotic Party.
The election of Dr Bawumia as president of the republic, Sammy Gyamfi posited, would be a third term in disguise for the Akufo-Addo regime and should same happen, accountability would not be exacted from them for their eight-year stewardship.
“The only way Ghanaians can get to the bottom of the litany of corrupt acts and scandals involving officials of this government, including Bawumia himself, is for the good people of Ghana to resoundingly boot the NPP out of power or office come December 7, 2024.”
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
