The Minority in Parliament has opposed the decision by First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor to hold the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor’s briefing to Parliament behind closed doors on Wednesday, July 15.
The decision followed a request by the Majority for the Committee of the Whole sitting with BoG Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama 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 on Wednesday, Member of Parliament for Ofoase/Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, questioned the basis for the ruling, arguing that previous appearances by the BoG Governor before Parliament had been open to the public.
He said the Governor’s written responses to parliamentary questions had already been published on the Order Paper and, therefore, did not contain confidential information that justified excluding the media from the proceedings.
“Earlier, the Governor submitted his answers, and I’m going to read to you the answers they don’t want you to hear,” he said.
“In the responses that they have given, they actually answer the question of the source. The answers have already been published on the Order Paper, so they are matters that are not secret. Yes, the rules say that we have a right to open it up or not.
“But you have nothing to hide. And so, in the precedent gone by, it was opened to the public. And we are astonished, disappointed that they don’t want the media to cover the responses that the Governor is about to give,” he said.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said the Governor’s responses showed 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 the 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,” he stated.
He questioned why the Majority would prevent the Governor from publicly explaining the central bank’s foreign exchange strategy.
“Why is it that the Majority is preventing the Governor from saying this to the entire country?” he asked.
The former Information Minister also alleged that the BoG had not provided updated figures on its market interventions and said the Minority would seek further clarification during the briefing.
He further claimed that the Minority intended to question the Governor on the central bank’s financial losses and the accuracy of some figures it had published.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah announced that the Minority had suspended its participation in the Committee of the Whole proceedings in protest against the decision to bar the media.
“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 and accountability by allowing public access to proceedings.
“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.
The Majority Leader, however, explained that the decision was not intended to prevent the media from accessing information from the engagement.
