Parliament divided over foreign reserves at Central Bank

2nd Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, has tasked the leadership of the house to resolve the controversy surrounding the true position on the state of the country’s foreign reserves at the Central Bank.

The controversy erupted when the chairman of the Finance Committee, Kwaku Kwarteng laid a statement on the floor to amend the report on the 750 million dollar loan which indicated that Ghana’s foreign reserves had dwindled from 9 billion dollars in December 2021 to the current figure of 3 billion dollars.

He indicated that the statement was an error and that the true figure is $7 billion.

“The gross international reserves of the country was 9.7 million dollars. This declined to 7.68 billion dollars at the close of June 2022. In terms of net international reserves, the country closed December 2021 with 6.08 billion dollars.”

“This position declined to 3.58 billion dollars at the close of June 2022. The error is regretted, and I request the clerk at the table to ensure that all the records are accordingly corrected,” he said.

But the Minority insists that the statement is an attempt to conceal the true nature of the country’s perilous economic situation.

Despite a last-minute attempt to arrest the motion on grounds of lack of quorum, Parliament approved the $750 million loan agreement with the Afrexim Bank for funding infrastructure projects and budget support.

The loan is part of a $1 billion dollar facility, the government is seeking to shore up its reserves as well as to pay for several infrastructure projects across the country.

The Minority previously opposed the loan agreement, but threw its weight behind it during the debate to avert what they call a collapse of the country’s economy if the loan is not approved.

The Chairman of the Finance Committee, Kwaku Kwarteng moved the motion while the Ranking Member on the Committee, Dr Cassiel Ato-Forson, during his contribution indicated government has not built the necessary financial buffers to pay back the loan.

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