Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister for Finance says he has written to the Speaker of Parliament to modify aspects of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government.
Ofori-Atta said revisions have been made to portions of the budget following concerns that have been raised by the public and the Minority side in Parliament.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday (6 December) Ofori-Atta said paragraphs 442 and 443 of the 2022 Budget statement, which relates to the ‘Agyapa’ Royalties Transaction, will be amended.
“On the behalf of the President, I have written to the Rt. Honourable Speaker of Parliament with details of modifications in response to emerging concerns by all stakeholders including the Minority Caucus.
“With regards to ‘Agyapa’ Royalties Limited, we shall amend paragraphs 442 and 443 to take out the reference to Mineral Royalties collateralisation. It’s important to note that any reference to ‘Agyapa’ was for information purposes and as such, was not reflected in the fiscal framework of the budget,”
He said paragraph 829 of the budget will also be amended to cater for concerns that have come up over the Aker Energy and AGM Petroleum by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
Ofori-Atta said this is in line with a resolution Parliament made on 6 July 2021, that “the terms and conditions of the loan for the acquisition of the shares shall be brought to Parliament for consideration pursuant to article 181 of the Constitution.”
“We will work with the relevant Committees of Parliament to reflect these modifications in the 2022 Budget as is the usual practice before the Appropriation Bill is passed.”
“Any other concerns which may emerge shall be addressed during the discussions of the estimates by the Committees, as has been the tradition,” he added.
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