The Minority Caucus in Parliament has intensified pressure on the government over the delayed presentation of the Bank of Ghana’s 2025 audited financial statements to Parliament, warning that failure to comply with the timelines prescribed under the Bank of Ghana Act could amount to a breach of the law.
The issue was raised on the floor of Parliament on Friday by the Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, during discussions on parliamentary business for the final week of May.
The latest development comes amid weeks of heated political controversy surrounding the Bank of Ghana’s 2025 audited accounts, which have triggered fierce exchanges between the governing National Democratic Congress and the opposition New Patriotic Party over the true scale of the Central Bank’s losses and the state of the economy.
The Minority has repeatedly accused the government and the Majority Caucus of attempting to politicize and manage public perception of the Bank’s financial condition before Parliament formally receives and debates the official accounts.
Speaking in Parliament on Friday (22 May), Kojo Oppong Nkrumah questioned why the Bank of Ghana’s audited statements had still not been scheduled for presentation before the House, despite statutory timelines under the Bank of Ghana Act already having expired.
According to him, Section 58 of the Bank of Ghana Act, Act 612, clearly outlines the process and timelinsubmittingion of the Central Bank’s audited accounts after the completion of the financial year.
He explained that the law requires the Bank of Ghana to complete its audited annual accounts within three months and submit them to the Finance Minister, who must then ensure the accounts are gazetted, accompanied by comments, and subsequently laid before Parliament.
Oppong Nkrumah noted that Parliament had already moved beyond April, the fourth month after the end of the financial year, and was now entering the final week of May without any indication in the parliamentary business statement that the Bank’s accounts would be formally presented to the House.
The former Information Minister expressed concern that Parliament and the executive risked violating the law if the accounts are not laid within the required period.
He therefore directly appealed to the Majority Leader to clarify whether the government intended to present the report before Parliament within the stipulated timeline.
“Section 58 of Act 612, the Bank of Ghana Act, requires that when the annual audited accounts of the bank are completed, within three months they should be presented to the Finance Minister, which will cause them to be gazetted, commented upon, and laid before the House,” he stated.
“We are finished with April. That is the fourth month. Next week is the final week of May. And in the business for the week, in presentation of papers, I don’t see it there,” Oppong Nkrumah stressed.
“I want to inquire from the Leader if it is something within their contemplation and caution that if we don’t comply, we’ll be in breach of Section 58,” he added.
The concerns raised by the Minority follow earlier accusations that the government and the Majority Caucus attempted to shape public perception of the Bank’s accounts through political press conferences before Parliament formally received the document.
Earlier this month, the Majority Caucus held a press briefing defending the Bank of Ghana’s reported GH¢15.6 billion operating loss, arguing that the costs reflected deliberate economic stabilization measures that helped reduce inflation, stabilize the cedi, and rebuild the reserves.
However, the Minority subsequently challenged the figures and interpretation presented by the government, insisting the true losses were significantly larger when other comprehensive income losses and gold transaction adjustments were included.
The dispute has since evolved into one of the most contentious economic debates in Parliament this year, with opposition MPs accusing the government of attempting to conceal the full financial condition of the Central Bank.
Responding on the floor of Parliament, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga acknowledged the concerns raised by Oppong Nkrumah and assured the House that he would immediately engage both the Finance Minister and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana on the issue.
According to him, the government remains aware of the legal timelines governing the submission of the Bank’s accounts.
“The Bank of Ghana, thank you for drawing our attention. I will check the timelines, but this afternoon I will draw the attention of the Finance Minister and then the Governor of the Central Bank to make sure that they do not default in terms of the timelines,” Ayariga said.
The Majority Leader also disclosed that during the parliamentary recess, he had personally engaged the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, who assured him that the institution would meet the required timelines and present the report.
He further suggested that the eventual debate on the report would generate significant national interest because of ongoing discussions about the economic management and the performance of the financial sector.
“I know you are very interested in debating the report, and of course, why not? It is a very important report, and given all the good indicators that we see in the management of the finances of the country, the report will be an interesting document to debate,” Ayariga stated.
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