'Were Public Funds Used For Banks' Bailout Or 'In Camera Funds?'

Scores of Ghanaians have mounted pressure on Parliament’s Finance Committee to make its scheduled probe into the collapse of seven indigenous banks public.

Many callers into Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Thursday argued that an in-camera probe would be inimical to the interest of the public.

“The officials being investigated could come out to deny having made comments the committee attributes to them and it will be one word against the other. If it’s public we are all watching live,” one caller noted.

Read: Parliament to investigate collapse of 7 banks

Some other callers were of the view that the speculated in-camera probe by the committee is just a way to engage in more cover ups and throw dust in the eyes of the people.

A Facebook follower asked whether it was public funds that was used to bailout the banks or was it "in camera funds."

The Finance Committee of Parliament met on Wednesday to decide on modalities to go about a probe into the circumstances leading to the collapse of the five banks.

The probe, according to the committee, would be held in-camera but the press would be briefed both before and after its sittings. The three-day probe is scheduled for 5 -7 September.

UT Bank and Capital Bank went down in August 2017 and all their assets and liabilities were taken over by state-owned GCB Bank.

A year later, the Bank of Ghana has created The Consolidated Bank of Ghana to take over the assets of Sovereign Bank, Construction Bank, BEIGE Bank, The Royal Bank and uniBank after they all ran into one liquidity problem after the other.

The BoG noted that some of them even obtained their licenses through fraudulent means.

Speaking to Joy News Joseph Opoku Gakpo Wednesday, Ranking Member on the Finance Committee, Cassiel Ato Forson explained that the probe is to find out if there was negligence in the process leading to the collapse and to decide the way forward.

The Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam MP added that they hope to find out why the Ken Ofori-Atta-led Finance Ministry decided to bailout these banks considering the impact on the taxpayer.

“We also want to know on whose authority The Consolidated Bank was capitalised and who did capitalised it,” he noted.

Contradiction?
Mr Ato Forson noted that despite the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) probe into the issue, Parliament is interested in the case because they are the representative of the people.

Some callers into the Super Morning Show were therefore dissatisfied that the said probe would be kept from the citizens.

Story by Ghana| Myjoyonline.com| Oswald K Azumah| [email protected]