Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison has firmly rejected calls for his resignation, dismissing the demands made by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Minority caucus in Parliament as “completely unnecessary.”
In a recent interview with the international business news website Central Banking, Dr. Addison expressed his commitment to his role and criticized the recent #OccupyBoGProtest organized by the Minority and other opposition parties.
Dr. Addison emphasized that there are more appropriate channels for the Minority in Parliament to voice their grievances in civilized societies, rather than resorting to street demonstrations. He referred to the protesters as “hooligans,” highlighting his dissatisfaction with the approach taken by the NDC.
The #OccupyBoGProtest, held on Tuesday, aimed to draw attention to the economic crisis resulting from what the demonstrators deemed poor fiscal policy by the Bank of Ghana.
Dr. Addison further refuted allegations by the Minority that he authorized the printing of money to fund the extravagant lifestyle of the ruling government. He clarified that the Bank of Ghana had engaged in monetary financing during 2020 and 2022 to address specific crises, which he maintained is legally permissible under central bank law.
In a related development, the Central Bank reported significant losses totaling GHC60.81 billion for the 2022 financial year, in stark contrast to the GHC1.23 billion profit recorded in 2021. These losses were attributed to the government’s domestic debt restructuring efforts and the depreciation of the cedi, among other contributing factors.
Addressing these financial challenges, Dr. Addison explained to Central Banking, “The impairment of the bank’s holdings of debt, which led to the losses, was a conditionality for the IMF program. Nobody at the Bank of Ghana forgave any debt.”
The governor also clarified the decision to commence construction on the new Bank of Ghana headquarters in 2019, stating that it occurred when the bank was in a profitable position and allocated some of its profits to fund the project. He emphasized that this decision was not made during a crisis.