Deputy Energy Minister, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, says the government’s Gold for Oil policy does not need to be submitted to parliament for approval.

According to him, the programme was instituted within the mandates of the Bank of Ghana and thus does not fall within the purview of parliament.

Arguing his point out on JoyNews’ PM Express Business Edition, he said, “On even the import side, BOST, before the commencement of this programme [Gold for Oil], if you like, imports petroleum products as part of their operations, do they take it to parliament for approval?

“So if Bank of Ghana is buying Gold in-country as part of its mandate and externalizing it to as it were either swap for commodity on behalf of Ghanaian importer and or monetize to pay on behalf of a Ghanaian importer which then the Ghanaian importer pays in cedis in Ghana, how does that require parliamentary approval?”

There have been calls from the Minority side of parliament for the Gold for Oil policy be brought to the house for perusal.

However, according to Egyapa Mercer these calls are merely to truncate the success of the programme which as at Monday, January 16, had delivered 41,000 metric tons of oil from the United Arab Emirates to Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST).

He said, “But I know why, especially people in the NDC led by former President Mahama will call for parliament because you know the dynamics there. To the point that the parliament of Ghana passed a law, the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act which then empowered government through requisite agency to set up a company for purposes of monetising our royalty.

“It’s all in the law. But when government sought to implement the law that had been passed by parliament by way of the Agyapa transaction you saw what happened.”