BoG illegally lent government GH¢70 billion – Isaac Adongo alleges

Bolgatanga Central Member of Parliament, Isaac Adongo, has accused the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, of lending an amount of GH¢70 billion to government.

According to him, the money taken from the central bank was used to finance government's maturing debts on the domestic market.

The move, Mr Adongo said, was contrary to the Bank of Ghana's Financial Management Act.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, he said, “There are strict rules on which the Government of Ghana can borrow from the Bank of Ghana, and the strict rules are quite clear, stating that, the Bank of Ghana at any point in time should have lent more than 5 percent of the previous revenue cumulatively."

He added that, “If you consider last year’s revenue, the government cannot even borrow less than GH¢5 billion from the Bank of Ghana, but by the end of the year 2021, Dr Addison had illegally lent over GH¢35 billion and by May this year he had added GH¢22 billion."

"As we speak today, Dr Addison has been financing the government and paying maturing debt obligations on the domestic market that the government cannot fund. We are currently looking at something in the region of GH¢70 billion of illegal borrowing by the government of Ghana through the Bank of Ghana,” the Bolgatanga Central MP stated.

He called for the dismissal of Dr Ernest Addison as the governor of the Bank of Ghana for playing a role in the mismanagement of the economy.

“How can Dr Addison still be the governor of the central bank? I call on Dr Addison, as a matter of urgency, to exit that office and give Ghana the chance to clear the mess that he has created,” Mr Adongo said.

He attributed the frequent increase in petroleum products, transport fares, goods and services, among others to some policy decisions taken by Dr Ernest Addison.

ESA/FNOQ