Majority Leader in Parliament, Hon. Mahama Ayariga, has defended Parliament’s decision to prevent the media from covering proceedings involving the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, arguing that unrestricted public questioning of the central bank chief could undermine confidence in the Ghanaian cedi and the country’s financial stability.
His comments come after the Minority protested the decision and staged a walkout, accusing the Majority of shielding the Governor from public scrutiny and preventing Ghanaians from hearing answers to critical questions about the country’s economy.
Addressing journalists after the incident, Mr. Ayariga insisted that Parliament’s decision was not intended to shield the Governor from accountability but rather to protect the integrity of Ghana’s monetary system.
He explained that while Parliament has every right to summon the Governor of the Bank of Ghana to provide information, such engagements should be conducted with caution because of the sensitivity of the Governor’s remarks.
“Let me say something: for today, there’s no issue,” he stated. “If you allow a practice where automatically anybody can drag the central bank governor to this House, and before the cameras say whatever they want to say, and the governor says certain things, you know how sensitive any comment by a central bank governor is likely to be in relation to the stability of your currency?”
According to the Majority Leader, statements made by a central bank governor can have immediate consequences for financial markets, investor confidence, and exchange rate stability.
For that reason, he argued, Parliament must strike a balance between ensuring accountability and safeguarding the country’s economic interests.
Mr. Ayariga stressed that the purpose of requiring the Governor to appear before Parliament is to enable lawmakers to obtain information needed for oversight, not to turn such appearances into public media interrogations.
“The idea behind making the Governor answerable to Parliament is so that when we need information, we can get it,” he said. “But it is not the objective of the rule that we should always subject the central bank governor to a media inquiry.”
He also suggested that the Minority’s insistence on open media coverage was influenced by its position in opposition, arguing that governing parties naturally exercise greater restraint when handling sensitive economic information.
“But of course, when you’re in a minority, you like the show of media inquiry, so you’ll be fighting for a thing like that,” he remarked. “When you’re in government, in all sincerity, you will be more cautious in terms of how you manage information about your central bank activities.”
The Majority Leader maintained that exercising caution was in the national interest, emphasizing that Parliament should avoid creating situations where politically charged exchanges involving the central bank could unsettle the economy.
“I believe that it is better to be cautious than to throw your central bank governor out there and allow people to ask questions and say all sorts of things,” he added.
The controversy follows sharp criticism from the Minority, which argued that the media should have been allowed to cover the Governor’s appearance before Parliament to promote transparency and public accountability.
The disagreement has reignited debate over the balance between parliamentary oversight, transparency, and the need to protect the independence and credibility of the Bank of Ghana in managing the country’s monetary policy and financial stability.
By 1960news.com
