Adongo defends GoldBod law’s passage despite opposition concerns, leaves door open to review

Parliament’s Finance Committee Chairman Isaac Adongo has defended the passage of the law creating GoldBod, despite opposition concerns over certain provisions. During an interview on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition, he stated that while opposition members did not disagree with the bill’s overall goal, they had reservations about specific aspects.

According to Adongo, the passage of the bill, from a political standpoint, was not met with a full agreement but rather disagreement on certain provisions. He argued that the law was urgently needed to enable the GoldBod institution to commence its operations. Adongo also left the door open for future changes, acknowledging that implementation could reveal weaknesses requiring parliamentary attention.

He further stated that a review could be conducted at any point if lapses were identified. The opposition, he suggested, might support such a review if the government sought changes to clauses they believed could have been handled differently. Adongo emphasized the bipartisan scrutiny his committee provides, highlighting former Finance Minister Dr Amin Adam, Deputy Ranking Member Dr Stephen Amoah, and Dr Gideon Boako as part of this process.

He maintained that differences among committee members allowed for the expression of varied views on proposed bills, including the GoldBod law. Despite these reservations, Adongo affirmed that the passage of the law was necessary, asserting that it would provide Parliament with another chance to scrutinize any provisions found to be inadequate.