Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has strongly criticized the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, for his reaction to the recent demonstration led by the Minority in Parliament.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP described Dr. Addison’s remarks as “provocative,” “uncourteous,” and “condescending.”
Following the #OccupyBoGProtest organized by the Minority, the central bank Governor stated in an interview with Central Banking that the march “was completely unnecessary.”
The Minority had staged the demonstration, demanding the resignation not only of Governor Dr. Ernest Addison but also his two deputies, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari and Elsie Addo Awadzi.
However, the caucus’s leadership failed to present its petition as the official designated to receive it was the Director of Security.
Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson expressed their intention to return and hand over the petition to Dr. Addison personally, feeling disrespected that he did not appear to receive it.
In his interview, Governor Addison stated that neither he nor his deputies had any intentions to resign.
He also criticized the Minority’s decision to protest in the streets, describing it as a move by “hooligans” and suggested that they had other civilized channels to address their grievances.
Speaking on TV3, Okudzeto Ablakwa questioned several decisions made by the Governor, emphasizing that they constituted infractions against the Bank of Ghana Act.
He expressed concern about the apparent contempt that Dr. Addison was showing toward parliamentarians, who are the people’s representatives.
Ablakwa emphasized that it was not within the Governor’s purview to determine the mode of legitimate protests against societal issues or violations of the law.
He stated, “We can decide to demonstrate, we can decide to picket, we can decide to write letters, we can decide to file motions, we can decide not to act at all. These are all democratic avenues available to us.”
The NDC MP suggested that in other jurisdictions, Dr. Addison would have faced legal consequences for his actions and assured that the Governor would be held accountable for his behavior.
Source: ghanaweb.com
