The Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has been criticized by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu for calling for the resignation of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and his two deputies.
He urged the Minority Leader to refrain from playing “partisan politics” with national matters.
In an interview with Oman FM on Monday, August 14, the member of parliament of Suame claimed that, as a former Deputy Finance Minister, the Minority Leader should know that the central bank must not be involved in cheap politics.
“We should not make everything about NPP and NDC. Ato Forson should have known better because he has held the position of Deputy Minister of Finance before and knows the operations of the Bank of Ghana. So, if you politicise issues of the BoG, it is not good for the country,” Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated.
He further stated that the central bank has no legal obligation to update parliamentarians on its daily operations. According to the Suame MP, the BoG merely has to report its foreign exchange receipts to Parliament, and it has been doing so consistently.
“There is no law that mandates the BoG to report its daily activities to Parliament. The law only mandates the BoG to report foreign exchange receipts to Parliament, and the BoG has always complied with this provision. The BoG does not report directly to Parliament.
“The constitution says that if you pass any law that is inconsistent with the constitution, that law is null and void. It’s either the Minority are overexaggerating issues or have not had time to examine the facts of the matter,” he added.
On Tuesday, August 8, the Minority in Parliament called for the resignation of Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Ernest Addison and his deputies, alleging massive financial mismanagement. Dr. Addison was blamed by the NDC politicians for the Central Bank’s GH¢60 billion loss by the end of 2022, and they demanded his resignation.
Furthermore, the Minority claimed that the Bank of Ghana had not provided adequate reporting to Parliament.
In a statement, BoG claimed that the government’s efforts to restructure domestic debt and the cedi’s subsequent depreciation were to blame for the losses. The Majority Leader has confirmed this stance by saying that no wrongdoing has happened.
