The Ranking Member on Parliament's Finance Committee, Casiel Ato Forson has stated that the Minority in Parliament will oppose the Agyapa Royalties Agreement should it resurface in Parliament.

The comment comes after government disclosed its intention to re-submit a restructured Agyapa Royalties Agreement to Parliament for approval.

Fiance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, at the inauguration of a newly appointed Board of Mineral Income Investment Fund in Accra on Tuesday, October 12, 2021, stated that the deal has been repackaged to inure to the benefit of the state.

In spite of this and assurances that the new deal is not going to have any impact on the debt situation of the state, Mr Ato Forson believes outstanding issues which led to the withdrawal of the deal remain unresolved.

"We are saying that the Government of Ghana retaining 1% is not the problem [but] the problem is that we are selling 49% of our shares. That is woefully underpriced," he said on JoyNews on Tuesday, October 12, 2021.

He indicated that checks by the Minority show that the valuation of the deal should be $3.7 billion instead of the $1 billion that has been stated by the government.

Also, he held the view that government maintaining its stance to list the deal in Jersey, a tax haven, will not benefit the state in any way.

He disputed assertions that listing the Agyapa Royalties deal in Jersey, will give the country an advantage of not paying taxes on dividends and royalties on grounds that Ghana already has a tax treaty with the United Kingdom "so all that is factored in the tax treaty.

"Indeed if you're to register the company in Mayland, England you'll enjoy the same treaty so let them register the company in England and not Jersey," he noted.

Furthermore, he stated that there are other economic issues that remain unresolved and until the government addresses all the concerns raised the minority will not change its position on the matter.