Former Deputy Finance Minister has argued that Ghana could have benefited more than it has in the Ayapa Mineral Royalties deal.

Cassiel Ato Forson said the agreement gives the country less than the value of its gold deposit.

“Our main issue is with the valuation. You cannot sell the assets of this country for free. We have been shortchanged, per this current agreement ”.

"In our hearts and mind, we know that Agyapa should not be valued at a billion, It should be a minimum of $2 billion," he said.

The Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam MP stated that there is a need for the Ministry to convince the public that the returns being made are in the interest of the state.

Speaking on the Joy FM's Super Morning Thursday, he said the country could have benefited more from the controversial deal.

The former Deputy Minister cited an analysis made by the Minority in Parliament which is contrary to what was presented by the Finance Minister.

"In the agreement, we have seen that there is perpetuity so there was a need for me to evaluate that. We did our analysis and concluded that is we are issuing it in perpetuity we are looking at $3.7 billion."

"The present value of the cash flow is over $2 billion, however, if you use a discount rate of 3% the present is $3.7 billion," Cassiel explained.

The Former Finance Minister noted that these calculations were made with consideration to the licence duration of the mining fields listed in the agreement.

This comes as the arguments around the Agyapa Mineral Royalties deal increase. A faction of the public believes the deal is the best for attracting investments in the extractive sector.

However, another group maintain that the agreement was hurried and not transparent enough.

The agreement said to be in line with the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act, 2018 (Act 978), was passed without support from the Minority in Parliament.

The agreement will enable the country to use a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Agyapa Royalties Limited, to secure about $1 billion to finance large infrastructural projects.

This is because, Agyapa, operating as an independent private sector entity, will be able to raise funds from the capital market, both locally and internationally, as an alternative to the conventional debt capital market transactions.