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The Minority in Parliament has described the government's response to its press conference held last week to draw attention to the violation of Article 181 of the 1992 Constitution in respect of the government�s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as "shocking" and "crass propaganda". It said the government should have, in humility, accepted its transgression and caused a recall of Parliament to take the appropriate corrective measures. The position of the government on the issue, the Minority said, was not in conformity with the facts or the truth. Addressing a press conference in Accra Monday, the Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, said a Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Cassiel Ato Forson, who put across the government�s position on the issue, should be aware that the IMF, as an institution, only lent money to its member states and not institutions of its member states such as the Bank of Ghana (BoG). He said that had been the case since Ghana joined the IMF in the late 1950s, adding that that was a "rudimentary fact". He indicated that the ECF was a lending facility used to support balance of payment (BoP) problems. "Here we wish to draw the minister's attention to the operative words 'lending' and 'balance of payments'. Lending simply implies a loan. �Furthermore, what is BoP? The concept of BoP is only made with reference to countries and not institutions. In other words, the ECF cannot be given to the BoG, since the bank cannot have a BoP, as the deputy minister's response sought to suggest," he said. Background At a press conference last Tuesday, the Minority had accused President John Mahama of violating Article 181 of the 1992 Constitution by failing to seek parliamentary approval for the three-year ECF agreement between the government and the IMF. It, therefore, called on the President to take corrective measures and cause the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, to recall the House from recess to approve or reject the loan agreement. It warned that if by the end of September this year President Mahama had failed to heed the call, it would use all avenues, including a court action, to ensure that "the sanctity of the Constitution is protected". But Mr Forson, in a response, had disagreed with the Minority�s views on the matter. He explained that the IMF loan in question had been approved by the IMF�s board based on a letter of intent signed by the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the BoG and was disbursed directly to the BoG by the IMF as BoP support. He indicated that the loan was used accordingly by the bank without supervision or interference by the Minister of Finance or any governmental authority. "The minister signs the letter of intent, together with the Governor of the BoG, because some of the policies underpinning the IMF programme are policies to be implemented by the government," he said. Mr Forson said under Article 181 of the Constitution, loans that were supposed to receive parliamentary approval were those that would be serviced out of the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund. �It is worth noting that the IMF loan to the BoG is not part of government debt,� he said, adding that the Minority did not understand the IMF programme and its statement was born out of ignorance. Minority's position Dr Osei said Mr Forson was undoubtedly aware that in the letter of intent dated March 20, 2015, the request for the ECF was made for and on behalf of the government of Ghana and not the BoG. For the avoidance of doubt, he said, paragraph one of that letter read: "The government of Ghana hereby requests approval of a three-year arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) covering the period of 2015-2017 in an amount of SDR 664.20 million (180 per cent of Ghana�s quota) to support its new economic programme." "Fellow Ghanaians, is there any doubt about who the borrower is?" he asked. Dr Osei said it was well known by all who cared to know that the BoG was the custodian of government funds and added that by that convention, successive governments had permitted the governors of the BoG to sign arrangements with the IMF, together with the ministers of Finance. "But these facts do not mean the borrowing is done by the BoG on its own behalf, as the deputy minister sought to establish," he said. He indicated that in its operation, the BoG was autonomous or independent, adding, however, that that attribute did not qualify the BoG to borrow from the IMF. "We expected that as a board member of the BoG, the deputy minister was aware of this fact. In any case, since when did our central bank become a profit-making enterprise such that it can suddenly decide on its own accord to borrow almost $1 billion from the IMF?" he asked. Dr Osei advised Mr Forson to read the technical memorandum of understanding attached to the ECF arrangement to satisfy himself with the definition of "government" as agreed between the government and the IMF. "The question we are asking ourselves is: with all these facts available to his office, why did Mr Forson choose to provide such a convoluted response? We leave the people of Ghana to answer this question. We only wish to caution that governance requires and, indeed, demands mature thinking," he said. �We conclude by reiterating that the ECF is a loan to the government and requires parliamentary approval. We intend to pursue this cause," he added.