The Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, yesterday inaugurated the Governing Board of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and tasked the members to work towards the stability of the economy to engender further economic growth.

The 11-member board has the Governor of the BoG, Dr Abdul Nashiru Issahaku, as the Chairman, with members including Mr Cassiel Ato Forson, a Deputy Finance Minister; Mr Millison Narh, a Deputy Governor of the BoG, and Dr Johnson Asiama.

The rest are Professor Kwabena Asomaning Anaman, Mr Augustine F. Gockel, Mrs Emma Akua Bulley, Dr Kwadwo Owusu Agyeman, Mr Godfrey Morgin Mwindaare, Dr Kwame Ampofo Kusi and Dr Eugenia Amporfu.

Responsibility

Mr Amissah-Arthur asked the reconstituted board to discharge its duties creditably in view of the fact that its members were appointed through a careful process of selection, coupled with their history of competence.

He said last August Parliament amended the BoG Act which gave more independence to the central bank, with supervisory control over monetary policy processes.

The amendment, the Vice-President added, also extended the mandate of the board from the previous three years to four years, while one more member had been added to the board.

He charged the board members to use the opportunity given them in the new act to seek concrete solutions for further economic stability for job creation.

Concern

Touching on concerns regarding high interest rates and the difficulty small and medium enterprises (SMEs) faced in accessing credit; Mr Amissah-Arthur asked the board to strive to reduce interest rates and the cost of doing business to bring relief to SMEs.

“Job creation is a priority of this government and we expect you to bring your rich experiences to bear on the board to make our country a better place,” he said.

Response

Responding on behalf of the other members, Mr Gockel thanked the government for reposing confidence in them and pledged their support to help bring about microeconomic stability in Ghana.

He described their appointment as a challenge to work towards meeting the government’s commitment to job creation and improving the microeconomic environment.

“We will work together as a team to deliver relative price stability,” he added.

He spoke about a financial inclusion policy to make SMEs access credit on affordable terms.