The Bank of Ghana (BoG) is healthy and hearty and has not collapsed, the Deputy Minister for Finance, Dr. John Ampontuah Kumah, has said.
He has also debunked claims by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that due to the collapse of the Central Bank, the government would soon introduce a recapitalisation levy.
According to him, such a claim could only be propaganda, and evidence of the opposition NDC’s stock in trade.
He described the party as “funny” and urged the public to “disregard” the propaganda about the collapse of BoG, adding that “BoG is solid!”
The Ejisu Member of Parliament (MP) made a post on social media to respond to the claim made by the NDC during a press conference on Tuesday addressed by the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
The Minority Leader claimed that there would soon be a recapitalisation levy for the BoG, because the Central Bank “has collapsed.”
Addressing the claim, the Deputy Minister for Finance wrote: “The NDC is funny! It’s not true that a recapitalisation levy is to be introduced for BoG; the Central Bank hasn’t collapsed.”
He explained that the main source of income for the Bank was from government transactions, i.e., fees and charges on all government transfers, the bank’s investments in marketable instruments, and also earnings from non-marketable holdings.
He argued that given that government transactions had gone down “naturally,” the income of the Bank would also go down.
He also cited that because of the debt restructuring, earnings on their holdings of markable and non-markable bonds would go down.
“Beyond this, the Bank is solid and is capable of performing its core function. Article 183, clause 2 (c) of the 1992 constitution enjoins the Bank of Ghana to promote and encourage economic development in the country; hence, there is nothing untoward in the actions of the Central Bank to support the state in its economic recovery efforts.
It is important to further highlight that a negative balance sheet by a Central Bank is not unusual; in fact, most Central Banks around the world run negative balances to achieve the overall economic anchor objectives of a Central Bank,” he stated.
He observed that such propaganda and “unnecessary attacks at the Central Bank only” result in increased market volatility, panic selling of assets, and can trigger a chain of events that can affect our overall economic stability.
ALLEGED RECKLESSNESS
The Chronicle, on Wednesday, August 9, carried a story that the NDC was galled over the loss of GH¢55 billion at the BoG; they relied on the Annual Report and Financial Statement of the Bank of Ghana, released last week.
This, he said, meant that the prestigious BoG, which was the mother of all banks in the country, had become bankrupt due to the Governor’s complicity with the government’s Economic Management Team.
Based on the revelations in the report, Dr. Forson emphasised that Ghanaians were charged a “Mismanagement Fee” by those at the helm of affairs at the BoG.
The report, Dr. Ato Forson explained, vindicated the NDC’s consistent calls on Ghanaians that the government has completely mismanaged the economy and virtually collapsed the BoG.
“The NDC party is on record as having informed Ghanaians on countless occasions that the Bank of Ghana has been on a dangerous trajectory, and indeed, it has now become a crime scene with dire consequences for all of us.
“We in the NDC will continue to explore ways of rescuing this country to prevent it from the doom that has befallen several West African countries,” he said.
