Attorney-General, Gloria Akufo
Attorney-General, Gloria Akuffo

The transaction advisors on the Agyapa Royalties Agreement deal are fighting back after a leaked document from the office of the Attorney General described the deal as onerous, unconscionable, and a violation of Bank of Ghana Act.

In a letter from Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta dated July 22, she expressed concern the deal curtails independence of Ghana’s Judiciary and Legislature.

She said the agreement will amount to executive interference of the powers of the judiciary, which is a violation of the concept of separation of powers as provided under the Constitution of Ghana. 

The Attorney General was also worried that the agreements “appear to be cast in stone with no option to evaluate their effectiveness or satisfactory performance so as to review or terminate the same if the need arises.”

Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko

But Mr Otchere-Darko of Africa Legal Associates, which is one of the legal firms advising on the deal, told Osei Bonsu on Asempa FM’s Ekosi Sen show that Miss Akuffo subsequently made a u-turn after several engagements with the lawyers.