For the second time, the minority caucus in Parliament has postponed its intended demonstration to seize the Bank of Ghana’s premises and demand the resignation of the governor and his appointees.
The demonstration will now take place on October 3, 2023.
According to the minority, the Police’s failure to designate safe zones for the protest contributed to the decision to postpone it.
Speaking to the media, minority leader Cassiel Ato Forson stated that the picketing has been temporarily suspended. To protect the public
The Ghana Police Service had already rejected the minority’s revised protest routes, but the minority had earlier asserted that the demonstration would still take place on Tuesday, September 12.
The meeting between the Minority leadership and the police on Monday concluded without a resolution, and the MPs accused the police of planning a purposeful plot to thwart their upcoming demonstration calling for the ouster of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and his deputies.
After three hours of discussion, the Minority told reporters that the police had not marked out a safe route for their protest, leading them to decide to start the demonstration.
The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, said, “The demonstration is tomorrow, we’ve made it clear to them. We have agreed on the routes and we are telling them that we will terminate at the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum. We gave them our word on that and we will stick to that.”
He added, “So the demonstration starts at Obra Spot through Adabraka, through Ridge Roundabout, to National Theatre then we turn through the ministries and then we hit the Atta Mills highway, we turn right and then we pass the National Lotteries and terminate at the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum.”
“We on our part have amended our routes, we will change to start from Obra Square and go through Adabraka, go through Military Police Headquarters, and then come all the way to terminate at the BoG,” Bernard Monarh, who left the meeting for what he called a “waste of time,” told journalists. They claim that the BoG is a security zone, which is why they have a difficulty. So that we may stop the conversation there, we asked them where the BoG security danger ends. In spite of the ups and downs the regional commander has experienced, you are now telling us that you can’t even agree on the protestation date. I can’t waste my time in a meeting like that.
He added, “Tomorrow is our demonstration and that is what we have been discussing for the past two and half hours.”
Despite the High Court having not yet heard the police’s injunction application against the protest, the Minority group has decided to proceed with their demonstration.
The police submitted the injunction request on September 8, citing concerns about security and potential disruption of public order during the protest.
In response, the Minority MPs have raised objections to the injunction application, contending that it constitutes an effort to suppress their constitutional rights to assemble and express their views.
The court is set to address this matter on September 18.
