BoG clarifies US$41m bauxite export earnings

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has formally responded to queries raised by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament regarding the $41 million bauxite export which was said to have not been captured in bank’s audited report for 2015.

In a statement, the central bank said, the proceeds from the export of bauxite in 2015 of US$41.05million was captured in the Statement of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments of the bank as part of non-traditional exports in the Schedule of Earnings of Dealer Commercial Banks in Table 17 of the first half report and Table 18 of the second half report.

MP for Efutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin during PAC’s first sitting raised issues with the BoG over its failure to capture a transaction involving the export of more than 40,000 tonnes of bauxite by the Ghana Export Company Limited in its audited accounts for 2015.

The query arose at the PAC was consideration of the report of the Auditor General on the statement of foreign exchange receipts payable to the BoG for the half year ended June 30, 2015, and December 31, 2015.

Meanwhile the Second Deputy Governor of the central bank, Dr. Johnson Asiama, who led a team of directors from the bank to the PAC, denied that the said amount could not be accounted for and assured the committee that given time, the central bank would make the detailed report involving the export of the bauxite available.

Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Mr. James Klutse Avedzi, then directed BoG to furnish the PAC with a detailed report which shows that the said amount was duly captured and can be accounted for the 2015 fiscal year.

Responding to the request by PAC, the Bank of Ghana explained that: “As stated in paragraph three of both reports, repatriation through the commercial banks do not constitute receipts in foreign currency that increase the reserve of the country as managed by Bank of Ghana. That explains why the proceeds from bauxite exports were not captured as part of Bank of Ghana’s foreign exchange receipts and payments reports.”

The explanation which was submitted to the PAC further stated that, “from the foregoing it is evident that the issue relating to the US$41.05m proceeds of bauxite has indeed been accounted for in the 2015 Statements of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments report.”

“The Bank of Ghana can also confirm that total bauxite export volume and value for 2015 was captured in the Balance of Payments statistics, just as in all other years before and after.”