BoG was very responsible – Bawumia tells critics

Vice President and NPP Flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has defended the Bank of Ghana for the decisions it took at the peak of the economic crisis.

Addressing teeming party supporters at the University of Professional Studies on Wednesday evening, Dr. Bawumia said that for the Central Bank, Ghanaians would have had a very difficult time steering through the crises.

“I must salute and give particular recognition to the Bank of Ghana, which has come under unfair criticism for taking the necessary measures which helped pull the economy back from the brink.”

“The central bank provided needed financing to the Government at that critical moment. What the Bank of Ghana did was very responsible, in putting the interest of the good citizens of Ghana  first,” Dr. Bawumia said.

He further stated that despite criticisms against the BOG financing more than the required limits as provided by the Public Financial Management, the financing by the BOG was temporary and was at a critical time during the COVID-19 pandemic and the liquidity crises of 2022 caused by restricted access to the international market.

The NDC and Minority in Parliament last year called out the BOG for recording a loss of GHC 60.8 billion in 2022 and contributing significantly to gross mismanagement by providing beyond acceptable funding to the government.

In addition, the opposition called for the resignation of BOG Governor Ernest Addison and his two deputies.

However, the Bank maintained on several platforms that their measures were meant to cushion the economy, preventing its potential collapse.