The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has clarified that it supported the government to the tune of GH¢47.9 billion in 2020 and 2022 and not GH¢80 billion as being speculated in the section of the media.
A statement issued by the Bank in Accra yesterday and copied to the Ghanaian Times, said the BoG supported the government to the tune of GH¢10 billion in 2020 to cover the COVID-19 Pandemic Bond to enable the government meet its financial obligations and coronavirus expenditures during the period to keep the economy running.
It said the Bank also supported the government with GH¢37.9 billion in 2022 to help the latter pay salaries and settle government debt maturities as the capital market was shut to the country due to its growing and unsustainable debt.
“The BoG did not finance government between 2017 and 2019 except 2020 because of the coronavirus disease which dwindled government revenue and rather increased its expenditure,” it said.
The statement said BoG in 2022 had to come to the support of the government to meet its financial obligations due to the lingering socio-economic impact of the pandemic on the economy.
It said the BoG would not finance the government this and the coming years as part of the International Monetary Fund programme.
The Bank of Ghana has come under criticisms of mismanagement due to the GH¢60 billon loss the bank incurred in 2022.
In the annual report and financial statements of the Bank issued in Accra couple of weeks ago indicate that, the Bank incurred loss of about GH¢60 billion.
But the BoG said the loss it incurred in 2022 was as a result of the ‘haircut’ the bank suffered in the Domestic Debt Restructuring Programme (DDEP) last year.
The Bank explained that it absorbed debts government owed it to enable the country to clinch the $3 billion three-year IMF deal to keep the economy from collapse and send positive signal to the country’s external partners.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
