Translate monetization of our gold from English to Twi and see what will happen – Kwesi Pratt tells gov’t over Agyapa Royalties

Ghanaian Journalist and Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Mr Pratt Jnr has taken a swipe at government over its attempt to monetized the country gold royalties in the Agyapa Royalty deal.

According to him, the decision was unacceptable adding that if government really want to see how Ghanaians would react to the monetization, they should translate it from the queen’s language, English to Twi to enable them have proper understanding of it.

Speaking on Pan African Television current affairs programme, Alhaji and Alhaji on Saturday, May 9, monitored by GhanaPlus.com, Mr Pratt Jnr  said monetization of gold simply means using the country’s gold as a collateral, a decision which he said would not be accepted by Ghanaians if they were made to understand it true meaning in the local dialect.

He explained no family in the country would accept for it treasury to be used as collateral and neither would Ghanaians permit same for their only 3% stake to used for such.

“You see you can have the fine fine English and do all kinds of things; they should translate what they are telling us in English into Twi and see whether people will not come from the villages with sticks and cuddles and drive them out of their government offices.  If you translate what they are doing in English into Twi it simple means they are given out our gold us collateral. That what it means. Now if you tell that to anybody they will kill you. Go to any family anywhere and tell them you are using the families’ treasury to go and leverage for money and see whether you will not be extradite from the family, they should stop this before the people of Ghana get even more angry. What is this monetization thing?” he said.

He added government should rather concern itself with how to increase and expand the country’s stake in the industry instead of monetizing the only 3% own by the country.

“You have 3% stake in the gold industry in your country, you are not thinking of expanding that you are talking about monetization,” he added.

He noted it doesn’t make sense for government to push through the Agyapa deal which sought to monetize the country little stake in the mining sector.

“They telling us they are going to monetize our gold royalties, what that it mean? .Before when we dig the gold and we sell it were we collecting stones and sticks so this monetization what does it mean? Where are we coming from to monetization, if in the past if we were collecting stones and mud for our gold then may be monetization will make  sense, it doesn’t make any sense to me at all. Our gold has always been monetized so they should come and tell us really what they want to do with our gold,” Kwesi Pratt Jnr emphasized.