The Minority in Parliament, led by former Lands and Natural Resources Minister Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has strongly criticized the new deal, describing it as “worse off” than the one negotiated under the previous administration.

He wondered why a group that objected to the ratification of the same agreement in a better form with better returns to the state under the New Patriotic government on the basis of “not in the best interest of the state” only to present the same agreement with lower returns to the state for ratification.

Mr. Jinapor argued that the Akufo-Addo government secured a far superior framework that offered 13 percent free carried interest, 6 percent equity for the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), and 1 percent allocation for community development initiatives.

He further accused the current government of lowering key fiscal benefits such as royalties and value-added tax (VAT) components, as well as weakening provisions on visibility and transit agreements.

“The royalty agreement is lower than the previous one. Ghanaians would have been better off if the earlier agreement had been ratified,” Mr. Jinapor contended, urging President John Mahama to reconsider the current deal in the national interest.