Let the next President appoint BoG Boss – Economist

An Economist and MP for New Juabeng South, Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah, has urged President John Dramani Mahama not to appoint a new Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) until a new President takes over the reins of the country next year.

“Any appointment now will tie the hands of the next President. President Mahama himself stated in his State of the Nation Address that you cannot sack a Governor until he exhausts his term”.

“Looking at happenings at the Bank, we need a fresh face but the next President must be given the opportunity to come in with his new Governor. The mess has been too much. The economy is bleeding”, he noted in an interview with Kasapafmonline.com Wednesday.

According to him, the economy under the management of Dr. Henry Kofi Wampah suffered a lot monetary challenges, resulting in the depreciation of the Cedi against the major trading currencies (Dollar, Euro and British Pound Sterling) in the world.

Lending rate has also increased astronomically under his tenure.

For example, under Wampah’s watch, the Ghanaian Cedi depreciated by 31.5% in 2014 and 22% in 2015. His exchange control measures could not save the currency. Inflation also remains astronomically high even under the IMF’s rescue program. His management of the microfinance sector has also seen many of those institutions folding up with depositors bearing the brunt of such action.

In the view of Dr. Assibey-Yeboah, the economic challenges experienced under the outgoing Governor must not be repeated, stressing that it was about time to appoint someone who “really knows and understands the workings of a central bank”.

“For Wampah’s successor, we need a very stong Economist; someone who is well-noted in monetary and exchange rate policies. He should also be on top of macroeconomic issues”, he noted.

He said it would be in the interest of the country to see the next Governor of the BoG restore confidence to the central to give it credibility.

Wampah was due for retirement this August but is likely to exit office Thursday, March 31, 2016.