News broke today that Ghana’s International Reserves had dwindled from 9 billion to $3 billion. This came as a shock to any Ghanaians as it showed that the country was nearing bankruptcy. The opposition NDC raised questions about what the monies were used for while also calling for the Finance Minister to be sacked. After receiving so much bashing from Ghanaians, the Majority have made a U-Turn.
Kweku Kwarteng, the Deputy Finance Minister while addressing the house of Parliament noted that there was a mistake with the earlier figures given. He mentioned that the reserves had not declined to $3 billion. Kwarteng, who heads the Finance Committee mentioned that Ken Ofori Atta made a mistake. “This was an error. It was an unfortunate oversight,” Kweku Kwarteng said.
Kweku Kwarteng called for a correction to be made because according to him the reduction amount is $7.68 billion and not 3 billion. Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah, Deputy Majority Leader Afenyo Markin and other MPs on the side of the Majority supported this amendment. The Majority side argued that such mistakes happen and can be corrected. Apparently, they feared this will make investor confidence drop over Ghana’s poor reserves.
The Minority however rejected the correction. Muntaka Mubarak noted that Ofori Atta had lied to the Finance Committee and needed to explain the error of several billions. Ato Forson also insisted that just a statement cannot correct this wrong. He called for a proper amendment which will be formal and not just an utterance. He wondered why Ken will mention 3 billion at the Committe sitting and later call for changes. In the end the issue was postponed. The Finance Minister is expected to address the house on the mid-year review report.
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