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Dr Kofi Wampah – BoG Governor
Two officials of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) were yesterday thrown out of the public hearing of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament after they told the committee that they were delegated on the spur of the moment to come and listen to concerns of the committee and pass on the information to their superiors who would later appear before it.
Members of the committee, led by their chairman, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu were incensed at the response of Leslie Akrong, Assistant Director in-charge of Banking Department of the BoG and Gabriel Joe Bokor, Deputy Chief Manager at the Bank that the chairman had to suspend the entire sitting yesterday.
The chairman asked the governor of the Bank or his deputies to appear before the committee today to respond to very pertinent queries raised against the bank in the Auditor-General’s report when sitting is scheduled to continue.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) officials, who were supposed to be led by the governor and his deputies, were scheduled to appear before the PAC sitting yesterday together with officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority, who were led by the Commissioner-General, George Blankson.
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Some moments after the GRA officials had taken the oath and were being led in evidence, the two BoG officials resurfaced at the sitting with the explanation that they were told about 30 minutes ago by their superiors that they had to represent the bank at the PAC hearing and come and give them a feedback but the committee members took strong exception to the attitude of the bank officials.
“We are here to do serious business and if you are just here because you have been told to appear then you must leave,” a member of the committee, Solomon Boar told the BoG officials.
Other members of the committee, including Richard Quashigah, NDC MP for Keta and George Loh, NDC MP for North Dayi, said the two BoG officials should be sent away so that the Governor himself would be invited together with other departmental heads to come and answer queries.
The chairman of the committee said the governor or his deputies must be present because the queries raised in the Auditor-General’s report were serious.
“I will like to suspend sitting at this stage because the meeting cannot go on without the presence of the Bank of Ghana Governor,” he said.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr
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