Bank of Ghana needs a befitting head office – Ofori-Atta rallies

The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has urged Ghanaians to support the construction of a new head office for the central bank, the Bank of Ghana (BoG), in Accra.

According to a citinewsroom.com report, the minister said that the construction of the new BoG head office, which is already ongoing, is important and called on Ghanaians to stop criticizing it.

He added that even though the criticisms of the timing of the new BoG head office are apt because of the current challenges in the country, its construction started before the economic difficulties began.

“With respect to the BoG’s new headquarters, the evidence is clear that decisions to build had already been made long before these “losses” occurred.

“It is important for us to support such a critical institution to modernize its operations and have a befitting office space for a country that hosts the AfCFTA and has the vision to become the financial services hub of the continent,” the minister is quoted to have written in an article titled ‘Citizens – Standing Strong with the Bank of Ghana’.

Ofori-Atta also rallied for support for the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, who the minority caucus of parliament is demanding must step down, together with his deputies, over the poor performance of the bank.

He added that Dr Addison, who he described as competent, has played important roles in stabilising Ghana’s economy.

“Governor Addison is a competent professional of quiet courage… In these nearly seven years, we have worked together to ensure: the inviolability of the banking system; the establishment of the Consolidated Bank of Ghana (CBG) and the Development Bank of Ghana; the raising of over $10 billion in the Eurobond market and AfriExim bank.

“He brought inflation down to single digits of 7.9% for the first time; and managed an impressive period of currency stability in our country including the implementation of the Gold-for-Oil programme,” he said.

The central bank has come under criticism after its books showed that it incurred a loss of GHS60 billion. It has also been criticised by a section of the public for its decision to go on with the construction of a new head office, which cost over $250 million, despite the economic challenges in the country.

Meanwhile, the minority caucus has postponed their planned protest to occupy the premises of the Bank of Ghana, where they intended to demand the resignation of the governor and his deputies.

The new date for the protest is now set for Tuesday, October 3, 2023.

This is the second time the Minority has postponed their plan. The original date for the demonstration was September 5, 2023, but was postponed to September 12, 2023, and subsequently to October 3, 2023.

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