THE ECOWAS Court of Justice announced earlier this week that it will not be issuing an order to the government of Ghana to stop the sale of the country’s gold royalties in perpetuity. This decision has left civil society organisations, including the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, and Transparency International, disappointed as they believe the sale would violate the rights of the people of Ghana.
The court ruling came after more than a year since the case was first brought forward by the aforementioned organisations. While a comprehensive analysis of the court’s reasoning will only be possible once the written judgment is available, the court’s preliminary read-out indicated that it refused to act primarily because harm has not yet occurred. ‘This decision was disheartening for civil society, as they sought the court’s intervention to prevent the impending violations of people’s rights over their natural resources,’ GII said in a statement.
GII added: ‘Furthermore, the judges disagreed with civil society’s concerns regarding corruption and the breach of checks and balances. They argued that the co-applicants failed to present sufficient evidence, despite civil society organisations submitting a 64-page report from Ghana’s special prosecutor that highlighted potential bid rigging, corruption, and illicit financial flows. The court seemed to have overlooked the suspicious circumstances surrounding the special prosecutor’s subsequent resignation after raising concerns.’
GII spokesperson Michael Boadi expressed disappointment, stating, ‘Good governance principles of inclusion and participation just lost a foothold on public decisions with respect to Ghana’s natural resource management. The ruling from the ECOWAS Court of Justice is a betrayal of the quest of West Africa’s peoples to ensure that their governments are accountable to the citizens.’
The sale of Ghana’s gold royalties, known as the Agyapa deal, was proposed by the government in August 2020. It involved selling the majority of future gold royalties to an offshore company, Agyapa Royalties Ltd, registered in the British Crown Dependency of Jersey. The government aimed to address the country’s debt crisis through this ‘innovative financing solution.’ However, opposition parties and civil society groups criticized the deal, highlighting the undervaluation of the gold rights and concerns about transparency.
Following the release of a report by the special prosecutor in November 2020, which revealed suspected instances of rigging, corruption, and unapproved payments, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo ordered a review of the transaction documents. The Agyapa deal faced public opposition leading up to the December 2020 general elections, and the incumbent government subsequently lost its majority. The current government mentioned a reconsideration of the deal in its 2022 budget presentation to the parliament.
In December 2020, the GII, the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, and Transparency International brought the case to the ECOWAS Court of Justice, arguing that the deal violated the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. They contended that the process disregarded the rights of Ghanaians to be consulted and have their concerns addressed. The civil society organisations urged the court to intervene and cancel any existing contracts related to the Agyapa deal.
