The Editor-In-Chief of the New Crusading Guide says calls for the reversal of the Agyapa Royalties Agreement at this time is unrealistic.
Abdul Malik Kweku Baako said a lot of efforts have been made towards sealing the deal, therefore, calling it off at this point will be very difficult.
“We have proceeded to the extent where agreements have been approved by Parliament, therefore, the call for a reversal in my candid opinion is not sustainable,” he said on Newsfile on Saturday.
His comments come at the back of demands by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) for the suspension of the Agyapa Royalties Minerals Agreement which has been approved by Parliament over claims that processes involved lack transparency.
The CSOs insisted that government should have engaged them in consultations before approving the deal, however, that did not happen.
Although government has rejected the claims and their request, Mr Baako said calling for a suspension of the deal now is not sustainable.
According to him, any effort to draw back at this point may result in issues of lack of integrity especially now that Parliament’s has approved the agreement.
He added that, Parliament’s approval indicates a lot of commitment, therefore, drawing back at this point will be impossible.
Despite Mr. Baako agreeing that the inputs of CSOs is a very critical part of governance, he said that any calls for the suspension should have been made at the early stages, even before Parliament approved the agreement.
“I agree that CSOs are very important. I consider them very critical and so I have no problem with CSOs calling for consultations and constructive engagements.
“[But] the problem is when that call was made. To be honest with you, where we have reached, Parliament has approved the agreement.
“It comes with a lot of integrity challenges. The state, in this case, the government, is dealing with so many organisations both here and outside, therefore calling it off now is not sustainable,” he added.