A private legal practitioner has taken legal action to stop the Ghanaian government from borrowing through treasury bills without parliamentary approval. This injunction, filed at the Supreme Court, contends that the government’s issuance of treasury bills is unconstitutional as it bypasses necessary legislative oversight mandated by the 1992 Constitution. The legal filing argues that continued borrowing without approval risks further economic strain.
The case, which names Ghana’s Attorney General as the defendant, also highlights breaches of the Bank of Ghana Act (Section 30) and the Public Financial Management Act (Section 61). These laws require that government debt instruments, including loans from the Bank of Ghana and treasury bills, are subject to parliamentary scrutiny and approval.
The practitioner insists that borrowing without legislative oversight endangers the Ghanaian financial system and could negatively impact many investors, including banks, pension funds, and individual Ghanaians. While the injunction seeks to prevent new government borrowing transactions, it does not aim to disrupt existing obligations, provided that repayments are not sourced from unapproved borrowing