Member of Parliament for Wa Central, Dr Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo says the losses recorded by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) depicts indiscipline at the institution.

He said it is mortifying to know that BoG recorded a GH¢ 60 billion loss in the 2022 fiscal year, considering the central bank is an institution that oversees how banks in the country prudently manage their resources.

“The Bank of Ghana is the lender of last resort, it’s the supervisor of all the banks, it instills discipline in the banks. And we have seen that over the years, banks are closed down because they are unable to manage their resources... It shows that there must be discipline in how we manage our banking affairs. 

“The Bank of Ghana has demonstrated that it is not disciplined in what it's supposed to do,” the legislator said on JoyNews’ AM Show on Thursday, August 10. 

Mr Pelpuo added that the Bank has also failed in terms of ensuring the country has a viable and stable economy.

This failure, the MP stated is attributable to the Bank of Ghana’s inability to say ‘no’ to government.

“Much of the challenges they have is a result of human factor, inability to say no, to insistence on government to do what they are supposed not to do. 

“They can’t be seen doing right. They seems to be an appendage of government and they fail in that independence stance that is required of them. And their failure is seen in the details of the accounts they have presented to us,” he emphasised.

To that end, Mr Pelpuo justified the NDC’s call for the resignation of both the Governor and his deputies.

He also condemned the new headquarters being built by the BoG, describing it as irresponsible.

He explained that at present, the Central Bank has insufficient cash reserves, yet it is embarking on a project worth $250 million [GH¢2.8 billion] and questioned the source of the funds.

Background

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta during his presentation of the Mid-Year budget review revealed that the Bank of Ghana incurred a loss of GH¢ 60 billion in the 2022 fiscal year.

The Bank of Ghana in its Annual Report, explained that the loss was caused by the impairment of the Government of Ghana's holdings of securities, which totaled GH¢48.45 billion cedis, the impairment of loans and advances made to quasi-government and financial institutions of GH¢ 6.12 billion cedis, and the depreciation of the local currency, which resulted in a net exchange loss totaling GH¢ 5.27 billion cedis. 

In a statement released by the BoG on Wednesday, August 9, it clarified that “GH¢53.1 billion of those losses were a direct result of the government’s domestic debt restructuring exercise (phase 1 and II).”