Ben Boakye Urges President Mahama to Review MIIF Structure and Policies

Ben Boakye Urges President Mahama to Review MIIF Structure and Policies

The executive director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Ben Boakye, has urged President John Dramani Mahama to reform the Mineral Income Investment Fund (MIIF) ‘s operations.

In a series of tweets, on X sighted by The Ghana Times, Mr. Boakye outlined critical concerns regarding the fund’s creation, operations, and management, emphasizing the need for its resources to benefit Ghanaians directly.

Mr. Boakye explained that MIIF was established to facilitate the controversial Agyapa Royalty Investments, which sought to monetize Ghana’s gold royalties through the London Stock Exchange. The Agyapa transaction, masterminded by then-Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and others, valued royalties from 48 mining concessions at US$1 billion, intending to sell 51% of this value for US$500 million.

“Parliament was unaware of the true intentions behind the MIIF Act,” Mr Boakye claimed, adding that civil society organizations (CSOs) resisted the transaction due to concerns over transparency and the perpetual loss of revenue to the state.

Following public backlash, the Agyapa deal was shelved, allowing Ghana to retain US$1.08 billion in royalties over four years.

However, Mr Boakye criticized MIIF’s current operations, alleging that its resources are used for discretionary projects, including school reunions, political events, and other non-priority expenditures.

“While citizens face economic hardships and haircut policies, MIIF remains a wealthy entity with billions of cedis in cash reserves,” he noted.

“Civil society organizations (CSOs) that fought against the Agyapa deal expect that the John Dramani Mahama (JDM) government will reverse this unfortunate situation and free up cash for development,” he added.

MIIF is a sovereign minerals fund mandated by the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act, 978 (as amended) to maximize the value of dividend and royalties’ income accruing to the Republic of Ghana in a beneficial, accountable, and sustainable manner and to monetize Ghana’s mineral wealth in a manner which would bring long term value to the country.

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