According to Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the leader of the Majority in Parliament, either the Minority Caucus in Parliament is exaggerating the problems with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) or it lacks the time to investigate the details of the Central Bank.
The Minority in Parliament charged that the Bank’s printing of substantial sums of money in 2021 and 2022 to pay the government had any rational rationale.
They claim that the BoG’s actions are a clear violation of the applicable legislation.
They point out that the printed amounts GHS 35 billion in 2021 and GHS 42 billion in 2022 are significantly more than the legally permitted cap of 5% of total revenue from the prior fiscal year.
The assertion in the statement is that the Bank of Ghana’s actions in creating money to pay the needs of the government in 2021 and 2022 were illegal, and that this behavior is illegal under Section 67 of the Bank of Ghana Act.
But Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said that “The Bank of Ghana Governor does not directly report to Parliament. 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 politicize issues of the BoG, it is not good for the country.”
“The BoG is not required by law to report to Parliament on a daily basis. Only reporting foreign exchange receipts to Parliament is required by law, and the BoG has always complied with this requirement. Parliament does not receive a direct report from the BoG.
According to the Constitution, any law that is passed that is in conflict with the Constitution is void. Either the minority is grossly exaggerating the situation or they haven’t had time to look into the facts.
“The BoG’s rebuttal tackles all the contradictions and untruths propagated against the organization. Yes, the nation experienced various issues that necessitated the BoG’s intervention. We would have suffered greatly if not for the close to $10 billion in overseas reserves that the BoG amassed. According to the Suame Member of Parliament, the BoG provided the nation with around 4 billion of its 10 billion in foreign reserves to help with the issue.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com