The Minority caucus in Parliament has intensified pressure on the government over the delayed presentation of the Bank of Ghana (BoG)’s 2025 audited financial statements to Parliam

The report indicates that the Minority caucus in Parliament has intensified pressure on the government over the delayed presentation of the Bank of Ghana (BoG)’s 2025 audited financial statements to Parliament.

It further notes that the caucus warned that failure to comply with the timelines prescribed by the Bank of Ghana Act could constitute a breach of the law.

The issue was raised on the floor of Parliament on Friday by the Ofoase-Ayirebi MP and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, during discussions on parliamentary business for the final week of May.

The latest development comes amid weeks of heated political controversy surrounding the Bank of Ghana’s 2025 audited accounts, which have triggered fierce exchanges between the governing NDC and the opposition NPP over the true scale of the Central Bank’s losses and the state of the economy.

The Minority has repeatedly accused the government and the Majority Caucus of attempting to politicise and manage public perception of the Bank’s financial condition before Parliament formally receives and debates the official accounts.

Speaking in Parliament, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah questioned why the Bank of Ghana’s audited statements had still not been scheduled for presentation before the House, despite statutory timelines under the Bank of Ghana Act already having expired.

According to him, Section 58 of the Bank of Ghana Act, Act 612, clearly outlines the process and timelines for submitting the Central Bank’s audited accounts after the completion of the financial year.

He explained that the law requires the Bank of Ghana to complete its audited annual accounts within three months and submit them to the Finance Minister, who must then ensure the accounts are gazetted, accompanied by comments, and subsequently laid before Parliament.

Oppong Nkrumah noted that Parliament had already moved beyond April, the fourth month after the end of the financial year, and was now entering the final week of May without any indication in the parliamentary business statement that the Bank’s accounts would be formally presented to the House.

The former Information Minister expressed concern that Parliament and the executive risked violating the law if the accounts are not laid within the required period.

He therefore directly appealed to the Majority Leader to clarify whether the government intended to present the report before Parliament within the stipulated timeline.

“Section 58 of Act 612, the Bank of Ghana Act, requires that when the annual audited accounts of the bank are completed, within three months, they should be presented to the Finance Minister, which will cause them to be gazetted, commented upon, and laid before the House,” he stated.

“We are finished with April. That is the fourth month. Next week is the final week of May. And in the business for the week, in presentation of papers, I don’t see it there,” Oppong Nkrumah stressed.

“I want to inquire from the Leader if it is something within their contemplation and caution that if we don’t comply, we’ll be in breach of Section 58,” he added.

Source: myjoyonline.com