The flagbearer of the New Democratic Congress and also the former president of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama has declared that the gold for oil policy by the ruling government must be scrutinized by parliament.
Speaking at a conference in London, the former president stated that under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, every international monetary transaction needs the consent of parliament. Therefore the gold for oil policy must be scrutinized by parliament despite the fact that it is some sort of barter trade.
Touching on the Sinohydro agreement, he stated that although this policy was a barter trade, it was sent to parliament for their consent because it deals with international exchange. Through this agreement, the country was able to trade its bauxite for architectural developments by the Chinese.
The former president uttered that if they sent the Sinohydro agreement which was a barter trade to parliament for consent, why shouldn’t the current government send the gold for oil policy to parliament for approval.
John Mahama also observed that the gold for oil deal was approved by only few government executives and no one else knew what the deal entails. He lamented that there was no transparency about the deal.
He furthered that this government do what they deem right without the knowledge of the public. He concluded that Ghanaians will get benefit from the gold for oil policy if is scrutinized by parliament.
Source: 1familyradio
