MAJORITY LEADER ACCUSES MINORITY OF CHASING 'MEDIA OPTICS' IN BANK OF GHANA PROBE

The Majority Leader Hon. Mahama Ayariga has criticized the Minority in Parliament for walking out of a committee meeting on the Bank of Ghana, accusing them of prioritizing media attention over meaningful parliamentary oversight.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Hon. Ayariga said the Minority insisted that the committee's proceedings with the Governor of the Bank of Ghana be conducted in public and broadcast by the media. He argued, however, that parliamentary rules require such a decision to be approved by the committee itself.

Citing Standing Order 266 of the Standing Orders of Parliament, the Majority Leader explained that committee proceedings are generally held in public unless the committee determines otherwise. He stressed that the Committee of the Whole operates under the same principle, meaning no individual group can unilaterally impose a public hearing.

According to Hon. Ayariga, the Minority was encouraged to convince the rest of the committee to support an open session but failed to secure the necessary consensus. "I asked them to convince the entire committee to want to sit in public. But if you don't convince the entire committee to agree to sit in public, you cannot force the committee to sit in public," he said.

The Majority Leader expressed disappointment over the Minority's decision to walk out instead of participating in the proceedings, stating that the Governor of the Bank of Ghana had appeared before the committee fully prepared to respond to every question raised.

He disclosed that the Governor had even prepared written responses for distribution to the media after the meeting, demonstrating that there was no attempt to avoid public scrutiny. "There is nothing that the Governor is afraid of answering in public," Hon. Ayariga stated, insisting that the hearing presented an opportunity for Parliament to thoroughly examine issues relating to the Bank of Ghana's operations and finances.

Accusing the Minority of pursuing publicity rather than accountability, the Majority Leader argued that their actions showed they were more interested in creating headlines than obtaining answers.
"Clearly, what the Minority has done is to show that they are not interested in the questions and the answers. They are interested in the media optics," he said.

Hon. Ayariga urged the Minority to respect Parliament's Standing Orders and focus on substantive oversight. He maintained that if their objective was to ensure accountability, they should have remained in the meeting, questioned the Governor, and subsequently shared their findings with the Ghanaian public.