BoG Governor's appearance: Minority, Majority clash over media coverage

The Minority Caucus in Parliament on Wednesday, July 15, staged a walkout from a Committee of the Whole sitting after objecting to a decision to exclude the media from proceedings involving Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama.

The Minority accused the Majority of attempting to shield the Governor from public scrutiny over questions relating to the Bank of Ghana's foreign exchange operations and the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.

The Majority, however, defended the decision, explaining that the Committee was merely following parliamentary practice for hearings involving independent constitutional bodies and that there was no attempt to conceal information from the public.

Speaking at a press conference after the walkout, Ranking Member on Parliament's Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, questioned why the Majority opposed media coverage despite the Governor's written responses already appearing on Parliament's Order Paper.

"The Bank of Ghana is here to admit that the 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? 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?" he asked.

He argued that the public deserved to hear the Governor's responses and the Minority's follow-up questions, describing Parliament as "the people's house" where accountability should be transparent.

Meanwhile, according to the Bank of Ghana's written responses circulated ahead of the meeting, the central bank stated that it had not undertaken direct foreign exchange market interventions since August 2024.

The central bank explained that its operations had instead been executed through the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, which mobilises foreign exchange proceeds from gold purchases for market intermediation.

Responding at a separate press conference, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga rejected claims that the Majority was hiding information, noting that the Committee had acted in line with Parliament's Standing Orders.

"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... You cannot force a committee to sit in public," said the Bawku Central MP.

He said the Governor had already prepared written responses and was willing to make them available to journalists, adding that there was nothing confidential about the information.

The Majority Leader also noted that unlike some previous governors, Dr. Asiama had consistently honoured invitations to appear before Parliament.