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A Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Millison Narh, yesterday denied reports that $600 million is missing from the bank's vaults. He said the country�s reserves had dwindled because the BoG had to support the import activities of the government, service the country�s debts, provide liquidity and assist the bulk oil distribution companies (BDCs) in their transactions. He told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament that due to the depreciating value of the local currency, the commercial banks were unable to support the BDCs in their petroleum transactions. As a result, he said, the BoG had to go to the aid of the banks to support the BDCs to "honour the letters of credit they have with other banks". Part of the money in the reserves, he added, was used to service the country�s debts. "There is nothing like missing money," he told the committee, adding that such falsehood dented the country's image and integrity in the international community. The committee had sought to know, during the scrutiny of the accounts and activities of the BoG for 2012, why there had been fluctuations in the country's currency reserves. Revenue loss Dr Narh said the country lost $1.3 billion last year as a result of the fall in commodity prices, adding that in spite of the challenges, officials of the BoG were managing the country's reserves prudently. He said the $1.3 billion lost could have been used to shore up the country's reserves but expressed optimism that with the $1.7 billion from the sale of cocoa and the $1 billion from the recent sale of gold, the country's reserves would rise and the currency stabilised. The last time officials of the bank appeared before the PAC, the issue of the missing money was brought up, but the Head of Treasury of the BoG, Mr Yao Abalo, who had been designated to answer the questions posed, failed to give satisfactory answers. Local currency The Chairman of the PAC, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu (NPP, Dormaa Central), therefore, requested that either the governor or any of his deputies appear to provide answers. The committee, at its sitting yesterday, also sought to know why the BoG effected payments in dollars, pounds and euros, although it had instituted rules against transacting business in foreign currencies. Mr Narh said payments made by the BoG were usually made on behalf of the government and explained that the bank only complied with the government's directives. He, however, agreed with the members of the committee that it would be prudent for the government to make payments in the local currency.