National Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has mounted a strong defence of Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, and GoldBod Chief Executive Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, following public calls for their removal over a reported million loss in gold purchase operations.
The alleged loss, contained in an International Monetary Fund (IMF) document, has triggered criticism from sections of the public and opposition figures, who argue that the BoG Governor and the GoldBod CEO should be sacked over the development.
Addressing party supporters at the commemoration of the 31st December Revolution in Accra, Asiedu Nketia questioned the basis of the backlash, describing the uproar as unnecessary “noise” given what he says are clear gains in the stability of the cedi.
“Recently, we’ve heard people say that Bank of Ghana and GoldBod have made a loss of 214 million dollars so we haven’t seen anything like this before, so Sammy Gyamfi and the Governor should resign. And I ask, what is happening in this country?” he said.
According to the NDC Chairman, the primary responsibility of the central bank is to protect and strengthen the national currency, and on that score, he argued, Dr Asiama and Sammy Gyamfi have delivered significant results.
“The Governor’s primary goal is to protect our cedi, the strength of our cedi. The cedi which Nana Addo said was of no use, today we have a Governor who, due to good measures by the President, has ensured that everyone can attest to the fact that our cedi is now strong,” he stated.
Drawing a contrast with the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, Asiedu Nketia took a swipe at former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s oft-repeated metaphor of “arresting the dollar.”
“In the eight years of the NPP and Dr Bawumia trying to arrest the dollar and put it in prison and give the key to the IGP, they couldn’t do it. President Mahama and his Governor, together with my younger brother Sammy Gyamfi, have used just one year to do what the NPP couldn’t achieve in eight years,” he claimed.
Asiedu Nketia insisted that the reported million loss should be viewed in the context of broader economic gains and not as evidence of corruption or misappropriation.
“We know the work the two leaders (Sammy Gyamfi and the Governor) are doing is the right thing to do. They’ve even done it beyond expectations,” he said.
“If they have lost 214 million dollars to achieve all these benefits in the economy, tell them we like it. It is not money someone has taken and chopped, but money that has brought benefits.”
He stressed that, in his view, the country is in a better economic condition and the cedi has begun to appreciate, which he attributes partly to the policies implemented by the BoG and GoldBod.
“As I am reiterating, the country is now in good condition, the cedi has started strengthening and we like it that way,” he said.
The NDC Chairman, however, maintained that the party would not shield any appointee found to have engaged in wrongdoing.
“So, on behalf of the party, I applaud the Governor and applaud Sammy Gyamfi. However, if anyone does the wrong thing, we won’t cover them. But since we haven’t seen that they have done the wrong thing, and their work is progressing and the nation is benefiting, the party is behind them,” he said.
Asiedu Nketia added that the NDC welcomes any formal probe into the matter and urged critics to pursue investigations if they believe there has been misconduct.
“Anyone wanting to do any investigations, we encourage them to do any investigation they want. Those accusing them have not said anyone has chopped money. They say they’ve used the money for a purpose, and that work has benefited the nation and we like it,” he concluded.
Source: www.Kumasimail.com
