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Charles Adu Boahen, a deputy minister for finance, has jumped into the ring of those defending the NPP administration’s engagement of Kofi Osafo-Maafo, one of the sons of Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo, in the Agyapa Minerals Royalties deal.

According to Boahen, Kofi Bosompem Osafo-Maafo was selected through a competitive process contrary to popularly held views.

The deputy finance minister explained that the selection process was done through Conferi, an internationally recognised global headhunting firm, which shortlisted Kofi Osafo-Maafo, deputy director-general of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

Charles Adu Boahen, who spoke to Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, stated: “It was a competitive process. As I said... Conferi is an internationally globally recognized headhunting firm that went through a very rigorous process over several months identifying professionals in the mining sector and who were shortlisted, interviewed by them; first phone interviews and in some case face-to-face interviews and then they sent to us a shortlist.”

He added: “And in fact, what we had insisted upon was that ideally, we would like to have a Ghanaian at the helm of affairs. And we also were cognizant of the fact that to be able to, we had to make sure that whoever it is was well qualified, had the right credentials, had the track record and experience in mining and gold and so could be able to really steer this company and give investors the confidence that they would need to be able to invest in such an entity,” he noted.

He continued: “The fact [is] that he was the only one who had actual direct experience as a research analyst and an investment manager in gold mining and in the energy sector. He’s had 25 years of experience on the investment banking and asset management side but more specifically, 18 of those years have been [in] covering gold mining and energy stocks.

In further extolling the virtues of Kofi Osafo-Maafo, Charles Boahen told his host: “And so, he really understands what the investor is looking for, what they would like to see, and how to package and sell this opportunity. Essentially, he used to be working on the side of the investors and we brought him on this side to be able to help us.”