Kwame Pianim defends BoG Governor amid resignation debate

Renowned economist Dr. Kwame Pianim has entered the ongoing debate about the resignation of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, and his two deputies, in light of allegations of wrongful government financing.

Dr. Pianim argues that the Governor's support for the struggling economy was not a wrongful act and, thus, resignation is unnecessary.

Dr. Pianim emphasised that the economic crisis should not be attributed to the Bank of Ghana, and he does not see any grounds for the Governor's resignation.

He asserted that the Governor and his team did not engage in fraudulent activities, nor were they incompetent in managing the economy.

In an interview on 3news, Dr. Pianim stated, "Resignation doesn't solve any problem. If the Governor resigns now, what happens? The same Minister of Finance [Ken Ofori-Atta] who is at the core of the economic crisis recommends to the same president [Akufo-Addo] a new person? They appoint somebody who doesn't know the terrain, who hasn't gone through this experience to be able to solve the problem."

Dr. Pianim argued that the Bank of Ghana did not require parliamentary approval before assisting the government in reviving the struggling economy. He noted that the suspension of the Fiscal Responsibility Act essentially implied that regulations governing the fiscal aspects were temporarily disregarded. He explained that this suspension had implications for the Monetary Policy Act, as well.

According to Dr. Pianim, the Minister of Finance's responsibility was to report to parliament about the monetary policy dimensions, and opposition members should have questioned the simultaneous suspension of the Monetary Policy Act. He underscored that the Bank of Ghana's actions were not inappropriate given the circumstances.

Dr. Kwame Pianim's viewpoint challenges the calls for the resignation of the Bank of Ghana officials while emphasising that the actions taken were not driven by incompetence or fraudulent intentions.