Ranking Member of Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has dismissed claims that the appearance of the Bank of Ghana Governor before Parliament must be held behind closed doors.

his comets follows Parliament's decision to hold committee proceedings involving the Governor of the Bank of Ghana behind closed doors, insisting that the practice is consistent with the Standing Orders and long-established parliamentary convention.

According to the Ofoase Ayirebi MP, Parliament’s Standing Orders clearly establish public committee proceedings as the norm, with in-camera sittings only allowed when there are specific reasons requiring confidentiality.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story, he cited Order 266(1) of the Standing Orders, which states that committee proceedings “shall be held in public, except otherwise determined by the committee.”

“The rule is not that these meetings are held in camera. The norm is that committee meetings are public meetings. It is only when there is a reason to keep it private that a committee can decide otherwise,” he said.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah argued that the BoG Governor’s engagement did not involve any sensitive national security or confidential matters that warranted excluding the media and the public.

He accused the Majority side of using the in-camera arrangement to prevent Ghanaians from hearing the Governor’s responses to questions posed by members of the committee.

The former Information Minister further claimed that the decision to restrict media coverage was politically motivated, arguing that some members were uncomfortable with aspects of the Governor’s responses, including his explanation on the role of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme in supporting foreign exchange interventions.

"The only thing you’re uncomfortable with is the politics, that you don’t want the Governor to say on record before the country that the reason for which they are able to mobilise forex to intervene on the market is because of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme which the NPP government introduced,” he said.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah insisted that Parliament must allow transparency in such engagements, stressing that the Central Bank should not be dragged into partisan political disputes.

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However, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, has defended Parliament’s decision to hold committee proceedings with the BoG Governor behind closed doors, accusing the Minority of prioritising political publicity over effective oversight after they walked out in protest against the restricted access to the proceedings.