The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Ernest Addison, and his lieutenants, to vacate their positions after they allegedly supervised the loss of GH¢60.8 billion.
The NDC posited that a staggering loss of GH¢60.8 billion recorded by the Bank of Ghana was equivalent to $6 billion, which is twice the amount Ghana is seeking from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its recent bailout.
According to the NDC, Dr. Addison and officials in government have not just been clueless, but unresponsive, insensitive and reckless in all their dealings, which have worsened the plights of Ghanaians.
At a press briefing to give their verdict on the activities of BoG, the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, asserted that the recklessness of Dr. Addison and his collaborators had unleashed economic hardship on Ghanaians.
He continued that the Governor and his deputies have perpetrated the highest form of impunity against the suffering masses, which could no longer be tolerated because it would set a dangerous precedent
In his view, “Those who have by their reckless and criminal conduct unleashed economic hardship and financial distress on the suffering people of Ghana must be held to account”.
Call for the Governor to resign
Dr. Ato Forson emphatically mentioned that the Central Bank of the state has been terribly desecrated by the Governor, his deputies and government officials to a point that the bank has become bankrupt.
The minority leader, therefore, called for the resignation of the Governor of the Central Bank within 21 days, counting from yesterday when the press briefing was held or face their wrath.
He said “We are resolved to embark on popular action to ‘occupy’ the Central Bank and drive out the team of inept, callous and criminal [bad] managers of the finances of this country and save the Bank of Ghana”.
The march, which he indicated would ensure accountability, would begin in 21 days if the Governor of the Bank of Ghana fails to do what he termed as the needful by packing bag and baggage out of that sacred institution.
Breakdown of alleged recklessness
Relying on Annual Report and Financial Statement of the Bank of Ghana, which was released last week, Dr. Forson mentioned that BoG has also recorded a negative equity of over GH¢55.1 billion.
This, he said, meant that the prestigious BoG, which is the mother of all banks in the country, has become bankrupt caused by the governor, with the complicity of the government’s economic management team.
The 2022 Report revealed that the Bank of Ghana spent a whopping GH¢131.6 million on motor vehicle maintenance and running in 2022 alone.
Additionally, foreign and domestic travels of the Bank of Ghana cost Ghanaian tax payers a staggering GH¢97.4 million, which is about 246% increase over the previous year.
Dr. Forson asserted that: “The Bank of Ghana also dissipated another GH¢8.6 million on Director’s remuneration alone. This represents about 87% increase over the previous year’s expenditure”.
According to the official report released by the BoG, a colossal amount of GH₵357.9 million was spent on Banking Supervision Expenses, whilst other undisclosed expenses amounted to GH¢287.8 million.
Based on the revelations above, as indicated by the BoG’s annual report, Dr. Forson emphasised that Ghanaians were charged a “Mismanagement Fee” by those in 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 to have 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.
