We are in a deep hole, we can’t build a US$250m head office now – Prof. Adei to BoG

A renowned economist, Prof. Stephen Adei, has described the timing of the building of a new head office for the Bank of Ghana as inappropriate.

He said that the country is currently in a deep economic crisis.

Quoted by asaasenews.com he said: “I don’t think this is the time when we are in such a deep hole that you should be building new headquarters.”

According to him, the justification by the Central Bank may be justifiable, but the current economic crisis is not one to last forever, therefore, the need to wait it out until the economy begins recovery.

“I agree with all the explanations that the Bank of Ghana gave that their building is not fit for purpose. I agree but there are certain things that we cannot do at this time – in a year or two, Ghana, fortunately, will not be in this forever,” he said.

The Minority in Parliament had stated that the BoG was building a new head office worth $250 million.

The Bank of Ghana responded to the claims without stating the cost of the building but justified it saying the current office cannot withstand earth tremors.

In a release on August 10, 2023, the BoG said: “The building also does not have the required strength to withstand the expected imposed significant earthquake loads that would be expected to occur in the Accra area.

“Based on the above, and looking at the strategic objective of positioning Ghana as the financial hub of the sub-region, with prospects of a potential Headquarters for a future regional Central Bank, the board and management of the bank considered a new head office building as the most important priority project to support the operational efficiency of the bank, and also position the Bank of Ghana in a very good position to be the host of the regional Central Bank as we currently host the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) of the Sub region,” it added.

SSD/NOQ

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