Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a North Tongu legislator, has informed Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu that the opposition MPs did not fabricate any story against the Bank of Ghana (BoG), for which he is accusing the NDC legislators of giving the governor a bad name in order to hang him.

What Hon. Ablakwa said on Ghana Tonight

The issues against the central bank that have been the subject of discussion, according to Mr. Ablakwa, were issues that the accounting and auditing firm Deloitte discovered in its audit report of the Bank in 2022. Everyone can read about these issues, he continued. On Monday, October 9, Mr. Ablakwa said on the Ghana Tonight program on TV3, “The majority leader’s statements are really unfortunate and are not supported by the facts. Let’s be clear: Neither the minority nor the NDC caucus has invented the very serious issues that have been brought up against the Governor and his two deputies.

“The dog has been caught, and the dog has given himself a name. This is not a matter of giving the dog a bad name in order to hang it. We are discussing an audit that was performed by the renowned international company Deloitte. It is a statement of fact that auditors have found that the BoG has incurred losses totalling GHS60.8 billion in the financial statement of the Bank of Ghana for 2022 and the attached audits. The BoG is insolvent and bankrupt, and that is a statement of fact.

Inviting Governor Dr. Ernest Addison to Parliament

His remarks follow the Majority Leader in Parliament telling the Minority that instead of staging a street protest, they could have invited Governor Dr. Ernest Addison to Parliament to answer questions. Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu expressed the opinion that since the Minority’s protest appeared to prejudge the Governor, the Majority side of the House will not support any motion the Minority makes to compel Dr. Addsion to appear before Parliament.

We could have invited the Governor to come and discuss the matters that are unclear to us because we are members of parliament. Do you want my support if you stage a protest and set up a press conference to oppose the man, then you return to Parliament to introduce the motion to invite him? The Suame Lawmaker asked TV3’s Evelyn Tengmaa in an interview on Monday, October 9, “Now that you have made up your mind that whatever [the Governor] has done is inappropriate, you are not going to countenance it, so if he comes to explain the issues, are you going to take it or jettison it?”

The Minority demanded that Dr. Addison, along with his two assistants, Drs. Maxwell Opoku-Afari and Elsie Addo Awadzi, resign due to mismanagement. The caucus originally gave the three governors 21 days to resign, but after that time had passed, they decided to take to the streets and march to the central bank’s headquarters to make their demands in person. The dedication of more than $200 million for the construction of an ultra-modern headquarters in Accra at a time the Bank had losses in its financial books angered the NDC Members of Parliament later.

What Ningo Prampram lawmaker told journalists during the protest

Additionally, they claimed that the Bank had overprinted cash for government expenditures in violation of the Bank of Ghana Act and written off government debt totalling GH48.4 million. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament invited Dr. Addison to appear before it to answer questions about the operations of the Bank, but the Governor only showed up three times in the last seven years, Ningo Prampram lawmaker Samuel Nartey George told journalists during the protest.

I’ve served on the Public Accounts Committee for seven years. The committee invites the Bank of Ghana twice a year, but he has only shown up three times in that time. Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bosu replied in response to his assertion, “I don’t know what he is saying, you don’t go out there and throw dust into people’s eyes and give the dog a bad name so that you can hang it, it is not right.” Dr. Addison stated to Central Banking that the #OccupyBoGProtest protest “was completely unnecessary” and that neither he nor his two deputies intended to resign in regard to it.

Dr. Addison Statement in an Interview

Dr. Addison stated in an interview with Central Banking on October 4 that “The Minority in Parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilized societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans.” The Governor stated that the decision to construct the cutting-edge headquarters was made in 2019 “when the bank was profitable and appropriated some of its profits for the new headquarters.”

“It was not a choice made in a time of crisis.”

FAQ’s

1. Why did the NDC caucus demand the resignation of Governor Dr. Ernest Addison and his two assistants? The Minority demanded that Dr. Addison, along with Drs. Maxwell Opoku-Afari and Elsie Addo Awadzi resign due to mismanagement, including the allocation of more than $200 million for the construction of an ultra-modern headquarters in Accra at a time the Bank had losses in its financial books.
2. What did the Majority Leader in Parliament suggest as an alternative to the Minority’s street protest? The Majority Leader in Parliament suggested that instead of staging a street protest, the Minority could have invited Governor Dr. Ernest Addison to Parliament to answer questions.
3. What did Dr. Ernest Addison say about the #OccupyBoGProtest protest? Dr. Ernest Addison stated that the protest was “completely unnecessary” and that neither he nor his two deputies intended to resign in regard to it.
4. What did Samuel Nartey George say about Dr. Addison’s appearances before the Public Accounts Committee? Samuel Nartey George stated that Dr. Addison had only shown up three times in the last seven years after being invited by the Public Accounts Committee to answer questions about the operations of the Bank.
5. Why did the NDC Members of Parliament accuse the Bank of Ghana of violating the Bank of Ghana Act? The NDC Members of Parliament accused the Bank of Ghana of violating the Bank of Ghana Act by overprinting cash for government expenditures and writing off government debt totaling GH48.4 million.
6. How did Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa respond to the Majority Leader’s accusations against the opposition MPs? Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa responded that the opposition MPs did not fabricate any story against the Bank of Ghana and that the issues against the central bank were discovered in Deloitte’s audit report.