Cassiel Ato Forson
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in Parliament has written to the Greater Accra Regional Police Command to notify them of an impending protest march against Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) on
The letter, signed by Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, leader of the Minority group, stated that the demonstration, scheduled for Tuesday, September 5, 2023, would be carried out in partnership with some civil society organisations (CSOs) and other progressive forces.
The notification to the police is in accordance with sections 1, 2, and 3 of the Public Order Act 1994 (Act 491), according to the letter, and the purpose was to express their outrage over an alleged illegal printing of money (about GH¢80 billion) by BoG for the Akufo-Addo government between 2021 and 2022.
According to the NDC MPs, the action led to a hyper-inflation rate of 54.1% in December 2022, pointing out, “This singular act of BoG has negatively impacted livelihoods and businesses and pushed about 850,000 Ghanaians into poverty in the year 2022 alone.”
“As representatives of the Ghanaian people, the Minority in Parliament is totally disgusted by the crass mismanagement and reckless mishandling of the affairs of the Bank of Ghana, which resulted in a gargantuan loss of GH¢60.8 billion and a negative equity of GH¢55.1 billion in 2022, with its attendant hardships on Ghanaians,” the letter said in part.
It stated further that they would also protest the “many acts of financial malfeasance by the Governor, his Deputies, and Directors of the Bank of Ghana as contained in the 2022 Annual Report and Financial Statement of the Bank.”
According to the NDC MPs, the protest will begin at Parliament House and proceed to Osu Cemetery Traffic Light, the Ministry of Finance, the High Court Complex, Kinbu, Makola, Rawlings Park, Opera Square, and the Bank of Ghana.
They stated that the protest march will culminate in front of the central bank, where they will picket to demand the immediate resignation of the governor, deputy governors, and the bank’s Board of Directors.
By Ernest Kofi Adu