The Bank of Ghana will soon start purchasing gold from the local market to help shore up its reserves.

This will happen after it launches the domestic gold purchase programme a few hours from now.

Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin says the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is not independent of the supervision of Parliament

Bagbin’s comment follows a statement made by Abena Osei Asare, Deputy Minister-designate for Finance contained in a report from her vetting for asserting that Parliament must thread with caution in the exercise of its oversight responsibility on the Bank of Ghana so as not to compromise the independence of the central bank.

Commenting on the Appointments Committee’s report for the approval of some 11 deputy minister-designate and a Minister of State, the Speaker noted that the comments by the Deputy Minister-designate are untrue citing the constitutional oversight tentacles of the legislature over institutions in the country.

He said “… There is no such independence at all. The constitution is very clear as to the status of the Bank of Ghana, please don’t add any other thing to it.”

Meanwhile, Abena Osei Asare denied making such an assertion and urged the Appointments committee to expunge that portion from its report.

BoG declines invitation
Earlier, the Bank of Ghana declined an invitation to appear before Parliament to assist with investigations into the revocation of the banking licences of Unibank and UT Bank.

Writing through its lawyers, Bentsi-Enchill Letsa and Ankomah, the central bank explained that the petitioners, Prince Kofi Amoabeng and Dr Kwabena Duffour, owners of the two banks, seek to procure Parliament to review decisions that it has taken.

The BoG further explained that this decision was taken according to its statutory powers under the Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).

“The BSDTI Act provides how persons who are aggrieved with such decisions may seek redress for their grievances, and the prescribed resolution mechanisms do not include recourse to Parliament.”

The central bank indicated that the two bank owners, by petitioning Speaker Alban Bagbin, have invited the legislature to issue instructions to it in the performance of its constitutionally mandated duty of promoting economic development and the efficient operation of a banking and credit system in the country.