The Minority in Parliament has protested the decision to hold Wednesday’s engagement between the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor and lawmakers behind closed doors, describing the move as a setback to transparency and parliamentary accountability.

The disagreement arose after the Majority requested that the Committee of the Whole meeting with BoG Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama be conducted in camera. First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor granted the request, directing that journalists be excluded from the proceedings.

Addressing the media after the ruling, Ofoase/Ayirebi MP Kojo Oppong Nkrumah questioned the justification for barring public access, arguing that previous appearances by central bank governors before Parliament had been open to media coverage.

According to him, the Governor’s written responses to parliamentary questions had already been circulated on Parliament’s Order Paper, making it difficult to understand why the oral briefing was being shielded from public scrutiny.

He contended that the information intended for discussion was already in the public domain and therefore did not warrant a closed session.

Oppong Nkrumah further claimed that the Governor’s responses indicate the Bank of Ghana has not relied on its foreign exchange reserves to intervene in the currency market since August 2024, but has instead depended on proceeds from its domestic gold purchase programme to support the cedi.

He questioned why the Majority was unwilling to allow the Governor to publicly explain the central bank’s approach to managing the foreign exchange market.

The former Information Minister also said the Minority intended to seek clarification on the Bank’s recent market interventions, financial position and some figures contained in its reports during the engagement.

In protest against the decision to exclude the media, he announced that the Minority had withdrawn from the Committee of the Whole sitting, while indicating that its leadership would continue discussions in an effort to have the proceedings opened to the public.

Oppong Nkrumah maintained that Parliament has a responsibility to conduct its business transparently, particularly on matters involving public institutions such as the central bank.

Meanwhile, the Majority Leader defended the decision, insisting that holding the session in camera was not an attempt to withhold information from the public. He maintained that the arrangement was intended to facilitate the engagement and did not prevent the outcome of the discussions from being communicated afterward.