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Minority to submit petition for removal of BOG Boss
The minority in Parliament are seeking the availability of Bank of Ghana Boss, Dr.Ernest Addison to submit a petition for his removal.
In a press statement released by the Minority, “We also demanded that your two Deputy Governors and the entire board of the Bank of Ghana resign from their posts.”
They went on to add “Before the protest march, we had made it abundantly clear to the people of Ghana that handing over our petition to you personally was also a part of our demands. But you failed to show up at the terminating point of our protest march to receive our petition.”
Subsequently, we informed you through the news media that we shall come back to present our petition for your resignation and that of your deputies to you personally.
Below is the full statement
On 3rd October 2023, Honourable Members of the Minority Caucus in Parliament, backed by some civil society groups and hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians, peacefully marched to the precincts of the Bank of Ghana head office to demand your resignation as Governor of the central bank.
We also demanded that your two Deputy Governors and the entire board of the Bank of Ghana resign from their posts.
Before the protest march, we had made it abundantly clear to the people of Ghana that handing over our petition to you personally was also a part of our demands. But you failed to show up at the terminating point of our protest march to receive our petition.
Subsequently, we informed you through the news media that we shall come back to present our petition for your resignation and that of your deputies to you personally.
We therefore write to request your availability at the premises of the Bank of Ghana head office for the Honourable Members of the Minority Caucus in Parliament to hand over our petition to you personally. Kindly inform us by Monday, 18th December 2023, a date and time convenient to you for us to present our petition to you at the Bank of Ghana head office.
To refresh your memory, our reasons for demanding that you resign from your post include the following:
1. You have failed woefully to use monetary policy to check inflation in the country which at one point stood at over 50%. You have equally failed to check the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi.
2, You have supervised the collapse of the financial sector of the country resulting in all banks posting colossal losses In 2022. Interest rates hikes have made Ghana unattractive for businesses to spend and create jobs. Many businesses have collapsed.
You have horribly mismanaged the Bank of Ghana and the annual financial statement of the Bank of Ghana for 2020″ revealed that the BoG lost a colossal sum of GHS60.8 billion and has negative equity of GHS55.1 billion,
4, As a result of your mismanagement of the Bank of Ghana, the Bank cannot in the medium term be relied upon to carry out its role as banker of last resort for government and the banking sector, prompting the Finance Minister to request Parliament to approve a sum of $750 million to support the ailing banks.
5. Your unprecedented mismanagement of the central bank has resulted in the insolvency of the Bank of Ghana itself and this became obvious in your own annual financial statement.
6. There is evidence of wanton dissipation of the Bank of Ghana’s resources through a series of wasteful and extravagant procurements, including the contract for the construction of the new Bank of Ghana Head Office building at Ridge in Accra.
7. Contrary to the Bank of Ghana (Amendment) Act, 2016 (Act 918), you illegally and excessively printed the sum of GHS80 billion (evidenced by paragraph 2 of the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policy) which caused the depletion of Ghana’s external reserves of $6.3 billion, and resulted in the unprecedented depreciation of the Cedi as it fell from GHS6/$1 to over GHS15/$1 while inflation rose to hyper levels of 54.1% in 2022; and
8. Following your ineptitude and unprecedented mismanagement of the Bank of Ghana, you have pushed over one million Ghanaians into extreme poverty and must be thus held accountable.
For these reasons, we continue to call on you, your deputies and your entire board to resign to enable the President to appoint a new leadership at the central bank to undertake the needed restructuring of our financial sector to resuscitate the country’s finances.
We hope to hear from you by 18th December 2023 regarding your availability at the Bank of Ghana premises to personally receive our petition.
Thank you.
Ghana’s First Lady, Lordina Mahama, has made a generous donation to the country’s national female Under-17 and Under-20 teams – Black Maidens and Black Princesses- as they continue preparations for major international assignments.
The donation, made on Friday, May 22, was presented on behalf of the First Lady by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, at the GFA Technical Centre in Prampram.
The gesture forms part of efforts to motivate and support Ghana’s young female footballers as they prepare to represent the country on the international stage.
The donation included essential food items and toiletries aimed at supporting the welfare and well-being of the players and technical teams.
The donation included cartons of Milo, T-rolls, soft drinks, toiletries, and a range of essential supplies aimed at supporting the welfare of the players, enhancing camp conditions, and easing preparations ahead of their respective assignments.
The Black Maidens are currently engaged in preparations for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers and are set to take on Liberia women’s national under-17 football team in the second-leg encounter in Liberia this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Black Princesses have already secured qualification to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after overcoming Uganda in the qualifiers, extending Ghana’s remarkable record to eight consecutive appearances at the tournament.
The donation by the First Lady was expected to boost morale within both camps while reinforcing national support for the young female footballers who continue to make the country proud.
The prosecution has officially rested its case in The Republic v Solomon Asamoah & Another, the high-profile legal battle commonly referred to as the “Sky Train” case.
The Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai announced the development, praising the state’s team of hard-working prosecutors for successfully anchoring the state’s evidence before the High Court.
The criminal trial centers on the former Chief Executive Officer and the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
The duo stands accused of illegally authorizing and paying out US$2 million to a foreign company without obtaining board directives or other mandatory statutory approvals.
State investigators have confirmed that the disbursed millions cannot be found.
Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, the accused persons moved the court for an opportunity to file a submission of no case.
The presiding judge granted the application, ordering the defense to submit their arguments by June 8.
The outcome of the June 8 filings will decide the fate of the trial:
With this, if the judge finds the defense’s submission convincing, the accused will be acquitted and discharged however, If the judge dismisses the submission, the court will order the accused officials to take the stand and explain why they should not face prison sentences.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
