The minority in Ghana’s Parliament kicks against government’s plans to borrow GHC10bn from Bank of Ghana

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs said they believe the government has an ulterior motive hence this unprecedented move.

The Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson, said this is a ploy to obtain state funds for the election 2020 campaign.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Ghana on May 15, released GHC5.5 billion to the Finance Ministry, the first tranche of the total GHC10 billion.

The GHC4.5billion left will be provided through the purchase of government assets, but that will be dependent on developments going forward.

Speaking in Parliament, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta explained that the GHC10 billion emergency facility will support the national response in the fight against the coronavirus disease.

Ken Ofori-Atta made this known on Thursday, May 28, 2020, when he laid a report on the limit of borrowing of the government under subsection (6) of section 30 of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612) in the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency.

The Minister justified the request for the funds saying it was in line with global policy responses of central banks with large scale asset purchases to provide support to manage the pandemic.

By providing the said amount, it means that the Central Bank has set aside a Memorandum of Understanding with the IMF which prevents it from financing the government’s budget which had been the case in previous years.

The Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, has referred the matter to Parliament's Finance Committee for consideration and report.