BoG Governor faces Parliamentary inquiry over alleged GH¢22 billion cash printing

The Minority in Parliament says they are readying themselves to summon the Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison, to answer questions in Parliament over an alleged printing of GH¢ 22 billion to finance government expenditure without recourse to the 275-member legislature.

Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Spokesperson on Finance and Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, following the presentation of the Mid-Year Budget Review by Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, alleged that the central bank has printed some GH¢22 billion without Parliamentary approval at the behest of the government.

The BoG in a statement issued on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 debunked the allegation stating: “The amount of GH¢ 22.04 billion represents net claims on Government, and not new currency printed to support the Government’s budget. The net claims of GH¢ 22.04 billion have the following four components: GoG Stocks and bonds sold by commercial banks to Bank of Ghana under repurchase agreements, by which banks routinely manage their liquidity positions; IMF SDR allocation disbursed to Government through Bank of Ghana; Draw-down of Government’s own deposits held with Bank of Ghana; Negative balance on Government’s account with Bank of Ghana at a point in time, and self-liquidated as new Government deposits are credited to the account.”

“Bank of Ghana would like to assure the public that in carrying out its functions as banker to Government, it is committed to complying fully with all relevant legal requirements. Bank of Ghana’s operations are constantly guided by the requirements of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612) as amended. As indicated in the Minister’s speech, should the need arise for emergency financing by Bank of Ghana in line with the BoG Act, Bank of Ghana, as was done in the case of the Covid-19 Bond of 2020, will follow the processes prescribed by the Act,” the BoG added.

Dr. Forson, despite the explanation offered, maintains the cash-printing allegation and chides BoG for funding the government over and above what is legally permissible.

“The Minister responsible for Finance shouldn’t have taken more than GH¢3.5 billion from the Central Bank. If we allow the BoG to get to this trajectory, our economic situation will get worse. We are going to summon the BoG governor to parliament to answer,” Dr. Forson said in various Accra-based media interviews.

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