The Minority in Parliament has called on the government to avoid turning the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) current difficulties into a political issue and instead focus on safeguarding the central bank.
They are also demanding a clear and transparent recapitalisation strategy for the BoG, guided by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana.
“The plan should specify the total recapitalisation amount, annual tranches, instrument type, maturity, coupon, budget treatment, parliamentary approval requirements and expected path to restoring positive equity,” the statement noted.
Equity concerns
Speaking at a press briefing last Thursday, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, urged that the BoG’s recapitalisation be factored into the government’s fiscal risk framework.
He explained that the medium-term fiscal plan should clearly recognise the central bank’s negative equity as either a direct or contingent liability, depending on the chosen recapitalisation approach.
He further urged the BoG to release a detailed solvency assessment excluding one-off gains such as gold sale profits, asset revaluation effects, extraordinary recoveries and other non-recurring transactions.
Calls for greater transparency on gold operations
Oppong Nkrumah also stressed the need for improved disclosure of quasi-fiscal activities.
He said operations involving gold programmes, foreign exchange interventions, open market operations (OMO) costs, and government-related receivables should be clearly reported to distinguish monetary policy actions from fiscal decisions.
He further called for stronger governance and transparency around gold transactions, including full disclosure of their purpose, approval processes, counterparties, settlement timelines, risk controls and financial outcomes.
“The secrecy that surrounded the sale of 18 tons of gold reserves remains a matter of grave concern,” he added.
Domestic debt exchange scrutiny
On the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), he insisted that its final treatment must be consistently reflected across national debt figures, fiscal reports, and the BoG’s financial statements.
He also proposed an independent technical review of unusual accounting practices, including the treatment of foreign exchange gains and losses, monetary gold valuation, IMF-related off-balance-sheet items and recognition of government receivables.
Safeguarding monetary policy rules
Addressing concerns over monetary financing, Oppong Nkrumah recommended strict post-programme safeguards to ensure the BoG does not finance government spending, except where transparently reported and clearly justified.
He criticised past IMF advice that encouraged amendments to the Bank of Ghana Act to allow monetary financing, describing it as harmful to economic stability if not properly addressed.
He further proposed that government publish a quarterly report covering key indicators such as central bank equity, OMO liabilities, government deposits, BoG claims on government, recapitalisation progress, gold-related balances and other contingent liabilities.