Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Member of Parliament for Ofoase/Ayirebi, has robustly contested the comments of Sammy Gyamfi, CEO of GoldBod, pertaining to the reported losses of the Bank of Ghana, calling into question Gyamfi’s efforts to deflect public attention from a prominent financial catastrophe.
Oppong Nkrumah said in a Facebook post this Sunday, May 10, that when Sammy Gyamfi attempted to explain the difference between the central bank’s “operating loss” and “total comprehensive loss,” he was effectively excluding the taxpayers in Ghana from the blame, which has been put on the taxpayer. He noted the Bank of Ghana’s own financial reports clearly reveal that its net equity was decreased by the entire GH¢34.9 billion, not the GH¢15 billion brought out by Mr. Gyamfi. “On page 16, the Bank of Ghana itself, on page 16, mixes the two numbers and cuts its net equity by a full GH¢34.9 billion not a lower one of GH¢15 billion. The central bank’s own balance sheet has by now resolved this,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah said.
The former Information Minister also said the accounting treatment of gains and losses under the current government has changed – those are now put to other comprehensive income instead of in, for example the profit and loss statement. He also cited an observation by auditors KPMG of the Bank’s recent accounts as having been prepared according to internal accounting standards and not the full International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). It makes straightforward year-on-year comparisons difficult unless both profit-loss account and other comprehensive income are viewed as a result simultaneously, he said.
Apart from the accounting discussion, Oppong Nkrumah accused Sammy Gyamfi of publicly contradictory statements regarding the Bank’s financial position and called on him to back a formal parliamentary inquiry on the matter. The exchange has heightened the rising political controversy over the Bank of Ghana’s financial performance and is expected to stoke greater calls for scrutiny of the central bank’s recent accounts.
Editor:
Obiri-Yeboah
