The new Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Asiama, has revealed that discussions regarding the construction of a new headquarters for the central bank started as far back as 2011.

He made this disclosure when he appeared before Parliament to answer questions about the new headquarters.

Dr Asiama explained that the board of the Bank of Ghana at the time had initiated considerations for acquiring land for the project.

However, due to the inability to agree on a specific location, no concrete steps were taken before the tenure of the board ended.

“The discussions around a new headquarters for the Bank of Ghana date back to 2011 when the board at the time considered acquiring land for the project. However, the board at the time could not settle on a specific location until its tenure ended,” he stated.

The Governor further highlighted that the issue was revisited in 2016 when he served as the Deputy Governor, but once again, a final decision on the location was not reached.

“Mr Speaker, even in 2016, when I was the Deputy Governor, the same issue was being considered, however, we could not settle on a specific location,” he noted.

According to Dr Asiama, it was not until 2019, under a new board, that a structural integrity audit was conducted on the existing headquarters, which was built in the late 1950s. The audit revealed significant structural defects, making the facility unfit for purpose.

“In 2019, under a new board of the Bank of Ghana, a structural integrity audit was conducted, and this showed that the existing headquarters, which was built in the late 1950s, had developed significant structural defects and was no longer fit for purpose,” he stated.