The Minority in Parliament has protested the decision by First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor to hold the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor’s briefing to Parliament behind closed doors, describing the move as a setback to transparency and public accountability.
The decision followed a request by the Majority for the Committee of the Whole sitting with BoG Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama on Wednesday, July 15, to be held in camera. The First Deputy Speaker subsequently ruled that the media would not be permitted to cover the proceedings.
Addressing a press conference after the ruling, the Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, questioned the basis for excluding the media, arguing that previous appearances by Bank of Ghana Governors before Parliament had been open to the public.
He noted that the Governor’s written responses to parliamentary questions had already been published on Parliament’s Order Paper and therefore could not be considered confidential.
“Earlier, the Governor submitted his answers, and I’m going to read to you the answers they don’t want you to hear. The responses have already been published on the Order Paper, so they are matters that are not secret,” he said.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said the Governor’s responses indicated that since August 2024, the Bank of Ghana had not directly intervened in the foreign exchange market using its reserves but had relied on proceeds from its domestic gold purchase programme.
“The Bank of Ghana is here to admit that its ability to intervene on the market is as a result of the domestic gold purchase programme. Why is it that the Majority is preventing the Governor from saying this to the entire country?” he questioned.
The former Information Minister also alleged that the BoG had not provided updated figures on its market interventions and said the Minority intended to seek further clarification on the central bank’s financial losses and some published figures during the briefing.
In protest, the Minority suspended its participation in the Committee of the Whole proceedings.
“We are here to inform you this afternoon that as a result of their decision not to allow you to cover, we have suspended our participation. Our leadership will continue to engage so that they do the right thing,” he said.
He maintained that Parliament must uphold transparency by allowing Ghanaians to follow proceedings involving key state institutions.
“This is the House of accountability. This is the people’s House. This is where the people must hear the answers to all of these questions,” he added.
In a post on X, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah also criticised the decision, writing that the Majority had objected to the media covering the Governor’s appearance before Parliament.
“Happening now in Parliament: The majority side objects to the media covering the questions filed for the Bank of Ghana to answer. Media have been cleared from the galleries… The minority insists the media be brought back before questioning starts. The people of Ghana no longer have a right to hear the answers from the Governor???” he posted.
The Majority Leader, however, maintained that the decision to hold the meeting behind closed doors was not intended to deny the public access to information arising from the engagement.
Source: adomonline.com
