The Minority in Parliament has criticised the Majority Caucus for refusing to allow media coverage of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Johnson Asiama’s responses to some parliamentary questions.
The questions, filed by the MP for Ofoase-Ayirebi and Ranking Member on the Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, sought information on the source of the foreign exchange used for the Bank’s interventions in the forex market, the framework guiding those interventions, and the total amount of forex injected into the market since January 2025.
However, the sitting was held in-camera, denying the media access to the proceedings.
Addressing journalists, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said, “The Bank of Ghana is here to admit that their ability to intervene on the market is as a result of the domestic gold purchase program. And that what they are doing is that they are mobilizing forex proceeds from the domestic gold purchase program and those are the forex proceeds that they are using for market intermediation. Why is it that the Majority is preventing the Governor from saying this to the entire country?” he asked.
Mr Nkrumah further quizzed, “Is it because he’s of the view that it undermines the stories they’ve been telling the people of Ghana that it is because of the gold board and some new strategies that they have brought? Is it because the Governor is here to admit on record that it is as a result of the Domestic Gold Purchase Program that they are able to mobilize these forex resources and inject onto the market? Is it because they are afraid that if that is said, it will become glaringly clear that the person responsible for this is Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia? Is that the reason for which they are clearing the media from the gallery?”
The Afoase-Ayirebi legislator expressed disappointment at the turn of events, “In times past where the Governor has been here, you have been in the chamber to cover live. Various stations have covered it live. What is it that they are afraid of that now they don’t want you to cover? When the Electoral Commission chair and her team came here, many of you covered it live. It was also a committee of the whole. Yes, the rules say that we have a right to open it up or not, but you have nothing to hide. In the precedent gone by, it was opened to the public. We are astonished, disappointed that they don’t want the media to cover the responses that the Governor is about to give.
However, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, has defended the decision to receive briefing from the Bank of Ghana Governor without media coverage.
He stated that it is standard parliamentary practice for heads of independent constitutional bodies to appear before the Committee of the Whole to answer questions without media coverage, citing Standing Order 266 to back his argument.
“That is what the rules say. Many of you have been covering this House for so many years and you all know that apart from the ministers, all the other independent constitutional bodies that come, they come and appear before the committee of the whole. And you all cover this House, and you know that when the Administrator of the Common Fund comes, have we allowed you to ever cover it? I’m asking you journalists, do you cover the Common Fund Administrator? Do you cover the NHIA boss? All those and even most of the time, unless we meet and decide when the Electoral Commissioner comes here, you don’t cover the Electoral Commissioner,” he explained.
According to Mr Ayariga, “the central bank Governor came to answer questions posed by Kojo Opo Nkrumah and we said that let’s do what we do for all other independent constitutional bodies which is, let us sit without the media because that’s what we do for everybody and they said no no no no, the media must be in.
We said no. Our practice has always been that for these independent constitutional bodies, we don’t hear them at plenary, and we don’t do it before the cameras and they said we had set a precedent by inviting the media to participate. The last time we invited the Governor to answer questions regarding the cost of the office building of the Bank of Ghana and so because we had set that precedent at all times, we must allow the media in.”
The Majority Leader said this stance is at variance with the provisions of the standing orders.
“That it is up to the committee to decide because if you read our standard orders, it says in order 266 that meetings of committees, meetings of committees and the committee of the whole is also a meeting of the committee. So, it says that proceedings of a committee shall be held in public except otherwise determined by the committee. So, I asked them to convince the entire committee to want to sit in public but if you don’t convince the entire committee to agree to sit in public, you cannot force the committee to sit in public and they walked away,” he stated.
