The debate regarding Parliament’s private meeting with Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama intensified on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, following the disclosure by the Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, of parts of the governor’s written answers to parliamentary inquiries. He asserted that there was no valid reason to deny the media access to the proceedings.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah contended that the governor’s responses had already been made public in Parliament’s Order Paper prior to the Committee of the Whole sitting, thereby rendering the information accessible.
Consequently, he questioned the rationale behind the NDC Majority’s insistence on barring journalists from covering the engagement, labeling the decision as contradictory to Parliament’s dedication to transparency and accountability.
“These are the answers that the Majority seeks to prevent the press from reporting to the citizens of Ghana. What is being concealed that warrants the media being denied access to these proceedings?” Mr. Oppong Nkrumah inquired after the Minority halted its participation in the protest against the media blackout.
According to the written responses provided by Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama, the Bank of Ghana revealed that it has not engaged in any direct foreign exchange intervention utilizing the nation’s official reserves since August 2024.
Instead, the central bank clarified that its foreign exchange activities have been carried out through the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGPP), whereby proceeds from gold purchases are converted into foreign exchange through structured gold transactions before being reintegrated into the market.
The Governor indicated that this arrangement enables the bank to substitute foreign exchange flows that were previously supplied by independent gold exporters prior to the centralization of those transactions under GoldBod operations.
As stated in the response, “Since August 2024, the Bank of Ghana has refrained from direct interventions in the foreign exchange market, as its FX operations do not utilize the central bank’s reserves. Instead, foreign exchange intermediation has been carried out through the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.”
The Governor further clarified that the existing foreign exchange framework was officially established through a policy announcement by the Bank of Ghana on November 11, 2025, titled “Bank of Ghana Announces New Foreign Exchange Operations Framework.”
The central bank noted that in addition to gold-related foreign exchange transactions, it also procured foreign exchange from mining, oil, and gas companies during part of 2025.
However, this arrangement was terminated on September 1, 2025, when the responsibility was shifted to commercial banks as part of a three-month pilot programme aimed at enhancing liquidity in the foreign exchange market.
In response to another question from Parliament, the Governor explained that the Bank’s foreign exchange operations are now governed by a rule-based framework intended to allow market forces to dictate exchange rates while minimizing excessive short-term volatility.
The Bank indicated that foreign exchange is now intermediated through transparent spot auctions conducted without guidance on exchange rates or transaction fees, thereby maintaining orderly market conditions instead of directly affecting exchange rates through reserve sales.
The Governor directed Parliament to the policy framework document dated November 11, 2025, for additional information regarding the operation of the new system.
Perhaps the most noteworthy revelation in the Governor’s responses pertains to the magnitude of the Bank’s foreign exchange operations.
According to the data presented to Parliament, the total foreign exchange intermediation conducted through the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme from January 7, 2025, to December 31, 2025, reached US$10.359 billion.
The Bank emphasized that these transactions were not a form of direct foreign exchange intervention funded by international reserves; instead, they represented the mediation of foreign exchange derived from gold export revenues under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah asserted that these statements highlight the necessity for Parliament to have permitted journalists and the Ghanaian public to observe the Governor’s oral presentations and the subsequent inquiries that Members of Parliament planned to pose.
He contended that the topics being discussed—including the origin of foreign exchange, the framework of the Bank’s intervention program, and the amount of foreign exchange directed into the market—are issues of significant public interest, as they have a direct impact on the value of the Cedi, inflation rates, investor confidence, and the overall macroeconomic landscape.
