By Clement Akoloh
Accra, July 22, 2026
The Minority in Parliament has accused the Bank of Ghana of pursuing “bad policy choices” that cost the country GHS 16 billion in sterilization losses in 2025, warning that the current economic stability is being built on unsustainable foundations.
Contributing to the debate on the Economy and Development Committee Report on the Conduct of Monetary Policy, Microeconomic Review and Banking Sector Developments, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, MP for Ofoase-Ayirebi, said BoG’s excessive sterilization of GHS 93 billion from the economy was responsible for the losses and for current liquidity challenges in the market.
“Cost of Bad Policy, Not Stability”
Mister Speaker, the sixteen billion Ghana cedis lost by the Bank of Ghana on sterilization is not enough. It is not enough,” Hon. Oppong Nkrumah told the House. He explained that sterilization means “BoG has mopped up money from the system so people don’t have liquidity to do business. That is why today traders are telling you: inflation has come down but goods are on the shelf and people don’t have the liquidity to buy.”
The Ofoase-Ayirebi MP rejected claims by the Majority that the GHS 16bn loss was a “cost of stability.” “In 2022 inflation was 54%… The NPP government reduced inflation from 54% to 23% before it left office. That was a 31-point drop. We didn’t spend GHS 16 billion to do that. You are bringing inflation from 23% to 5% – that’s only 18 points – and you lose GHS 16 billion and you call that cost of stability? What sort of mathematics is this?” he asked.
Hon. Oppong Nkrumah noted that following Minority pressure, the BoG Governor had announced he would no longer use the sterilization strategy.
Cedi Appreciation Started in Q4 2024, Not 2025 – Oppong Nkrumah
On the exchange rate, the former Information Minister accused government of taking credit for cedi gains that began under the previous administration. “Read the 2024 Bank of Ghana report published in 2025 under Governor Asiama. Governor Asiama says that the appreciation started in Q4 2024. It didn’t start on your watch,” he said.
He attributed the gains to forex from the Domestic Gold Purchase Program, and accused government of disguising interventions as “intermediation.” He cited GHS 10 billion in interventions in 2024 and asked how much had been done between January and July 2026. “We are relying on high gold prices and high gold volumes. What happens when those prices go back to the 5-year average? We are living on borrowed time,” he warned.
$1.2 Billion Reserves Gone – Where Did It Go?
Hon. Oppong Nkrumah also raised concerns over a $1.2 billion drop in Ghana’s gross international reserves according to recent BoG data. “What have you used it for? Because you have told us that you are not doing intervention and that it is proceeds from the forex market that you are pumping. So where has the $1.2 billion gone?” he demanded.
He further welcomed the Governor’s decision to stop funding the Gold Board, saying it was “an admission that everything we have been saying here in this chamber is true.”
Recommendations
The MP called for two immediate actions: 1. End excessive sterilization and pursue monetary policy without choking liquidity. 2. Full transparency on how reserves are being used and stop “depleting them under the guise of intermediation.” “If he follows these recommendations it will bode well for him, for the Bank of Ghana and for the Ghanaian economy,” he concluded.
The House is expecting the Minister of Finance to provide further details on BoG interventions and reserve management during the Mid-Year Budget Review on Thursday, July 23, 2026.
Source: parliamentnews360.com
