The Minority in Parliament has rejected the proposed routes by the police for their planned September 5 protest against BoG Governor Dr. Ernest Addison and his deputies.
This response follows the recent statement by the police, highlighting concerns about the potential disruption of public order if they go by the routes proposed by the demonstrators.
The police added that staging a protest directly at the Bank of Ghana might pose security risks.
However, the opposition MPs have firmly rejected these assertions in a letter signed by the Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
A letter to the police explaining their stance said the proposal presented in the police’s letter dated August 23, 2023, was not previously discussed or agreed upon during the delegation’s interaction with the police authorities.
The minority further said the attempt to change the route based on the reasons above was untenable, troubling and unwholesome for the Ghana Police Service’s motto of service with integrity.
“How is the Bank of Ghana headquarters designated by the police as a security zone and the Cedi House, another Bank of Ghana edifice that the police proposed we march through, not a security zone? I do not want to believe that you are citing or hiding behind a ‘security zone’ to thwart our planned protest and for the police to shirk its constitutional duty of providing security for persons who desire to publicly manifest their revulsion and abhorrence at the central bank’s reckless management.
“We have successfully and peacefully marched through the routes you are rejecting before, with the aid of the police, and you do not have sufficient and compelling grounds to refuse to police this particular protest march on those routes,” the letter stated.
They, therefore, charged the police to prepare to honour their constitutional duty of providing security along their designated routes.
Per an earlier letter, the minority said the primary focus of the protest is the central bank’s alleged printing of over 80 billion for the Akufo-Addo government.
They highlighted that this action has contributed to a hyperinflation rate of 54.1% in December 2022, leading to severe economic challenges for Ghanaians.
Furthermore, the caucus indicated that the central bank’s actions have resulted in approximately 850,000 Ghanaians being pushed into poverty.
According to the minority, these actions led to significant losses for the institution, including a loss of GH¢60.8 billion and negative equity of GH¢5.1 billion in 2022.