President John Dramani Mahama yesterday swore in Dr Johnson Pandit Kwesi Asiama and Dr Zakari Mumuni as Governor and Deputy respectively of the Bank of Ghana with a task to uphold responsible fiscal management.
The mistakes of the previous governments in the management of the economy, President Mahama said should provide a blueprint to the new men at the helm of affairs at the central bank to turn around the fortunes of the economy.
He held that during the “supposed” banking sector cleanup exercise undertaken by the previous government, thousands of jobs were lost and lives disrupted because “decisions were made with a narrow focus rather than considerations of the human impact”.
According to him, the Bank of Ghana had the opportunity to salvage some institutions, to protect livelihoods while ensuring stability, but instead, an approach that ignored human consequences prevailed.
“The test of your patriotism in this solemn duty of economic governance lies in learning from these missteps—recognising that policies must not only enforce regulations but also safeguard the futures that depend on them.
“The lessons of the past remind us of the dangers of fiscal recklessness and the lasting harm it can inflict on an economy,” President Mahama noted.
He said the effects of unsustainable consumption expenditure, financed by excessive and unregulated printing of money, had severe consequences on the economy.
Such recklessness, he said, does not only weaken public confidence in financial institutions and threaten long-term stability but spirals inflation, erodes incomes and ultimately, drives millions into poverty.
The President noted that to safeguard the economy from these risks, “we must uphold responsible fiscal management, strict adherence to legal and regulatory frameworks and protect the independence of the Bank of Ghana”.
In discharging this mandate, President Mahama admonished the governor and his deputy to go beyond mere technical considerations and act in full recognition that every statistic, every movement on a chart, and every shift in an index is more than just data.
“Behind these numbers are real human stories—dreams either nurtured or shattered—demanding not just your highly extolled analytical expertise, but empathy and foresight that acknowledge the profound human consequences of every decision,” President Mahama said.
Assuring of his commitment to ensure the Central Bank operated free from political interference, guided solely by its mandate, President Mahama said that was the path to building a resilient economy— one where policies are driven by discipline, foresight, and the best interests of the Ghanaian people.
Expressing appreciation to President Mahama for the confidence reposed in them, Dr Asiama outlined six priority areas his team would focus on to reset the economy.
These areas are recalibrating the monetary policy strategy, preserve exchange rate stability, realign the regulatory mandate of the Bank to promote greater levels of financial intermediation to support economic growth, boost financial inclusion and innovation, promote greater fiscal and monetary policy coordination and reverse the Bank of Ghana’s negative equity position.
“Through responsible financial sector governance, digital transformation, and sound economic policies, we will create an economic and financial system that is transparent, predictable, and stable,” Dr Asiama assured.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
