Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, says there is no law that puts the Bank of Ghana above parliament.
He said there is the need for the Bank of Ghana to subject itself to the Parliamentary probe into the withdrawal of the banking licences of uniBank and UT bank.
According to him, evidence on the grounds following the collapse of the banks has proven that the approach used by the Central Bank was problematic.
“What happened has not gone along the lines of what we were told. Clearly, we have not benefitted from the nuclear approach of blowing up these banks and the loss of businesses and jobs associated with it.
“I think nobody should be stopped from speaking up, the issues that are being brought up by Duffuor and others must be listened to and the bank of Ghana should not resist it. I suggest to Parliament to broaden its scope into the matter. There is no law that stops parliament from enquiring into issues in this country and there is no law that puts Bank of Ghana above parliament,†Mr Bentil noted on Newsfile Saturday.
Bank of Ghana
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has said it will not honour an invitation by a parliamentary ad hoc committee petitioned to probe the collapse of Unibank Ghana Limited and UT Bank.
The central bank said the petitioners, Prince Kofi Amoabeng and Dr Kwabena Duffour, the owners of the two banks, seek to procure Parliament to review decisions that it has taken.
Speaking through its lawyers, Bentsi-Enchill Letsa and Ankomah, the BoG explained the decision to decline the invitation is also consistent with its statutory powers under the Banks and Specialised Deposit Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).
“The BSDTI Act provides how persons who are aggrieved with such decisions may seek redress for their grievances, and the prescribed resolution mechanisms do not include recourse to Parliament,†Joy News quoted portions of the report, Thursday.
The central bank believes that by petitioning the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, the owners of the two banks have invited the legislature to issue instructions to it in the performance of its constitutionally mandated duty of promoting economic development and the efficient operation of a banking and credit system in the country.
This, BoG argues is contrary to section 3 (2) and section 4 (1A) of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 613).
Parliament
On March 22, 2021, when the petition was laid before the House, some legislators from the Majority caucus, including the Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, raised objections about the appropriateness of the procedure adopted by the Speaker in admitting the petition.
They also questioned the reasons by the Speaker to allow the House to consider the petition since the cases involving the two banks were pending in court.
Per the petition, the two personalities are appealing to Parliament to investigate the conduct of the Bank of Ghana the revocation of the licences of the banks in 2018.
They claimed that the central bank revoked the licences of the two banks without due regard to the rules of Administrative Justice guaranteed under Article 23 of the constitution.
They, therefore, want Parliament to direct the restoration of the banking licences and remedying of the harm done the shareholders’ property rights as a result of the conduct of the central bank, as well as give any other directive the House may deem appropriate.
For Mr Amoabeng, he wants Parliament to investigate the conduct of the Ghana Stock Exchange for delisting the bank without regard to the rules of Administrative Justice guaranteed under article 23 of the Constitution.
In the case of Dr Duffour, he wants Parliament to investigate the conduct of the BoG in the takeover, the appointment of an official administrator of Unibank Ghana Limited and the circumstances surrounding the revocation of the banking licence of the bank.
He also wants Parliament to give other directives that Parliament may deem appropriate, according to the petition.