CSOs Call ECOWAS Court Ruling On Egyapa Deal “Disappointing” And “Betrayal”

The Ghana Integrity Initiative (Transparency International Ghana), the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition and Transparency International have described the ruling of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of justice on the Egyapa deal as “disappointing” and a “betrayal” to West Africans.

The three Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) who dragged the Government of Ghana to the court believe the ruling puts the citizens of Ghana at risk.

“The Ghana Integrity Initiative (Transparency International Ghana), the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition and Transparency International are disappointed that judges saw no need for court action to prevent the violation of the rights of the people of Ghana that is bound to occur should the sale go ahead.”

Michael Boadi, the spokesperson for the Ghana Integrity Initiative, holds the ruling is a “betrayal of the quest of West Africa’s peoples to ensure that their governments are accountable to the citizens.”

They emphasised that the proposed sale would serve “corrupt interests and not the people of Ghana”.

The Court sitting in Abuja in Nigeria on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, threw out the trio’s petition to stop the government from monetizing the country’s royalties.

The Judges disagreed with civil society organizations on matters related to corruption and the breach of checks and balances, arguing that the co-applicants failed to present sufficient proof.

Background
The Egyapa Royalties Deal is a deal to mortgage the country’s future gold royalties for a “lump sum of money”, the Ministry of Finance explains.

75.6% of the country’s royalties from 12 gold-producing mines and four mines under development under the current mining leases will go into the deal.

This met sharp criticism from a section of Ghanaians three years ago.

In November 2020 the President of Ghana called for a review of the transaction documents for parliamentary approval after the Special Prosecutor released a corruption risk report on the deal stating it is susceptible to corruption specifically illicit financial flows and money laundering.

In response to this, the Ghana Integrity Initiative (Transparency International Ghana), the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition and Transparency International filed a suit with the ECOWAS court in December 2020 to stop the government from carrying on with the deal.

They argued that the deal violates Article 21 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which states that all peoples are entitled to determine how their wealth and natural resources are disposed of.

But in court, Ghana’s Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame argued otherwise.