Dr. Ernest Addison
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison says he and his two deputies are not going to resign either today or tomorrow as demanded by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in Parliament.
According to him, he is not stepping down, since the demonstration organised by the NDC on Tuesday was “completely unnecessary”.
“The Minority in Parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilised societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans,” Addison said.
The Minority In Parliament on Tuesday took hostage the principal streets of Accra to stage a protest dubbed #OccupyBoG against the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and his two deputies on what they describe as poor fiscal policy by the Bank by calling on them to resign.
The Protest led by the opposition National Democratic Congress party leadership said the action of the central bank governor, Dr Addison has led to hyperinflation and high cost of living and wants him and his two deputies to step aside.
The NDC during the protest also accused the BoG Governors of overprinting money to fund the government’s alleged profligacy which has led to economic hardship.
The Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson, said “This Akufo-Addo government, together with the governor, haven’t been fair to Ghanaians. Governor Addison printed for Akufo-Addo for them to live a champagne lifestyle. We can’t continue this way. Ghanaians are struggling and finding it difficult to survive. Some are struggling to eat three times a day. We want this government out.”
He further claimed the Bank of Ghana provided monetary financing during 2020 and 2022, to meet specific crises. This is legal under the central bank law.
However, the Governor reacting to the NDC claims said, the Bank of Ghana decided to start the new headquarters in 2019.
He added that” This was “when the bank was profitable and appropriated some of its profits for the new headquarters,” he said. “It was not a decision taken during a crisis.”
“The impairment of the bank’s holdings of debt which led to the losses was a conditionality for the IMF programme. Nobody at Bank of Ghana forgave any debt” he added.
The Central Bank posted losses totalling GHC60.81 billion for the 2022 financial year as against a profit of GHC1.23 billion recorded in 2021.
The losses were a result of the government’s domestic debt restructuring activities and the depreciation of the cedi, among other factors.
-BY Daniel Bampoe