The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga has challenged the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison to provide evidence of his engagement with the International Monetary Fund as an excuse given for the Governor’s inability to have received the petition of #OccupyBOGProtest in person.
Mr Ayariga indicated that even though its protest was massively attended and the Minority Caucus were impressed with the enthusiasms of the protesters, it was disappointed by the deliberate refusal of the Governor of Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison for failing to receive its petition in person.
According to the National Democratic Congress lawmaker, the Minority Caucus will go back to the Bank of Ghana to submit its petition to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana at a time when he is available.
“The Protest was well attended but we didn’t however achieve our object of handling the petition to the Governor of the central bank. We got there and were ask to meet the Head of Security to hand over the petition to him but we indicated to them that we are not willing to handover the petition to the Head of Security.
We went there to meet the Governor; at least he has two deputies. Out of courtesy we expected that without his presence he would have sent one of them to receive our petition and since he was not there we also refused to submit the petition; we have plans to go back there and submit it”.
Mahama Ayariga
Mr Ayariga also alleged that the workers of the Bank of Ghana did not attend work and therefore there is no way the leadership of the Bank could have been in a meeting with the International Monetary Fund.
“I was not aware the IMF were meeting the BOG Governor until 3-4pm when we were there. The BOG Governor knew Ghanaians were matching to the bank to submit a petition to him; we are his employers, so he owes us a duty to be there. We are talking about the entire Minority giving indication that it was walking to the bank to give a petition, if you don’t even regard us individually at least consider that we represent half of the parliament of Ghana. I have my doubt that the Bank was having a meeting with the IMF”.
Mahama Ayariga
Mahama Ayariga Accuses BOG Governor For Conniving With Government To Create Economic Mess
The Honorable Mahama Ayariga further accused the Governor of the Bank of Ghana for colluding with the central government to impoverish Ghanaians with the current economic mess it has created.
He also refuted claims of the Governor of the central bank that its losses is as a result of external factors such as Covid-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war.
Mr Ayariga explained that what basically accounted for the current economic mess the country fined itself in is mainly due to the excessive borrowing and the reckless expenditure by government.
“This whole argument about the global financial situation and the Covid-19 experience, the Russiam-Ukraine war etc., it is laughable because we have central bank in the sub region, Africa, central Africa who lived through Covid-19. Apart from the massive looting in the name of Covid-19, I really don’t see the impact of Covid-19 on our finances. Covid-19 didn’t happen in Ghana alone, the inflation in other countries in the sub region is not the same as what we are experiencing here in Ghana. There is too much waste, corruption and looting in the system and at a certain point the public purse could not bear the level of looting”.
Mahama Ayariga
He indicated that the construction of the Bank of Ghana new headquarters is a clear manifestation of the reckless spending of public funds in the country by the current government.
Mr Ayariga also accused President Akuffo Addo and the New Patriotic Party administration for making a lot of unfeasible promises which has led to excessive borrowing and its accompanying numerous taxes imposed on Ghanaians.
He believes the central bank failed to hold the central government accountable as it is mandated by the laws of Ghana.
Meanwhile Nana Otuo Acheampong, a financial consultant believes the losses by the central bank were outside the control of the central bank and therefore cannot be held accountable for it.
The Minority Caucus in Parliament and the National Democratic Congress in collaboration with Civil Society Organizations, Progressive Forces and other well-meaning Ghanaians embarked on its much anticipated #OccupyBOGProtest on Tuesday 3rd October 2023.
The protestors accused Dr Ernest Addison and his two deputies of gross mismanagement of the central bank, citing the over GHc60 billion loss by the Bank of Ghana as the basis for their call for their resignations
READ ALSO: Minority Fumes At BOG Governor For Refusing To Receive Its Petition In Person
