Resignation of Dr. Ernest Addison is meaningless unless it is linked with the ousting of Ken Ofori-Atta

According to Paul Moser-Boehm (2006), both the Central Bank and the government have a very strong relationship.

Both critical stakeholders cooperate and share information on the dynamics in the fiscal and monetary policy formulation and implementation.

Despite this inherent relationship between them, the primary objective of the Central Bank of every country ensures there is price stability, and its mandate is financially autonomous from the government side with short-term political considerations.

The Central Bank is often considered to be the lender of last resort to the Government in times of enormous economic crisis but not always lending to the government and thereby introducing more money into the system to chase after fewer goods!

Thus, the fiscal policy aspect of the economy is handled by the government via the Finance Minister, while the monetary policy side is managed by the Central Bank of Ghana (BOG) via the Governor.

The two individuals at the Finance Ministry, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Central
Bank of Ghana (BOG), Dr. Ernest Kwamina Yedu Addison was appointed by President
Akufo-Addo in 2017 until now.

While the Central Bank satisfies its primary mandate, it must act with transparency and be accountable to the legislature and the public.

The managerial actions of both the Finance Minister and BOG’s Governor together with their respective teams should be synchronous to improve upon the health of the economy although the latter has financial autonomy.

However, the ailing Ghana’s economy has been a source of worry to many and can be largely attributable to the indiscipline and mismanagement of the economy by the above-cited individuals.

Thus, any attempt to ask one of them to go while the other stays will be highly economically unproductive. Here is why.

In the case of Ghana’s economy, both the government and the BOG are experiencing
lingering negative results from their actions, which have rippling effects on the ordinary Ghanaian.

The current BOG’s boss and the Finance Minister can be akin to ‘Siamese twins’ in terms of common ‘sins’ shared. Upon assumption of office in 2017, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta went on a borrowing spree as well as engaging in conflict of interest and economic engineering or reporting which the Minority in Parliament vehemently opposed.

On the other hand, the BOG’s Governor is fingered by the Minority in Parliament as the worst Governor for printing money, exceeding the 5% threshold as well as the unimaginable losses incurred by the Central Bank as captured in its 2022 Annual report.

Isaac Adongo has been leading this charge to inform Ghanaians about the actions of the BOG. Instead of the Governor focusing on BOG’s core mandate of preserving price stability, he kowtowed to the demands of the government to print more money, among others, leading to astronomical inflation and its attendant consequences.

Thus, both the Finance Minister and Governor are co-producers of the economic challenges and Siamese twins in their actions e.g., the closure of over 400 domestic banks and other deposit-taking institutions, lack of transparency to the people’s representatives especially the minority side of Parliament, etc. and cannot be ‘separated’.

The previous clarion calls from Ghanaians to sack Ken Ofori-Atta long ago via a censure motion in Parliament failed because President Akufo-Addo ignored such loud calls to act.

The recent #OccupyBOGProtest’s demand for the resignation of Dr. Addison is indeed understandable and well-placed in the interest of the nation. In one of my latest feature articles published on ghanaweb.com and modernghana.com (Monday, 9 October 2023), l intimated that Dr. Addison is emboldened by the actions of Ken Ofori-Atta and President Akufo-Addo after the #OccupyBOGProtest.

The unfortunate response of the Governor to the demonstrators of the #OccupyBOGProtest is a confirmation that he is emboldened and not bothered at all.

For me, even if the Governor is removed while Ken Ofori-Atta is still in post, there will be no sustainable cure for the economic crisis we are witnessing under this badly performing regime of Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia.

Instead, there should be a renewed call from all well-meaning Ghanaians for the removal of both the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison from the management of the fiscal and monetary policies. It appears President Akufo-Addo is bent on keeping his two non-performing appointees for the rest of his term despite mounting pressure from the citizenry for the President to act timeously.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who is the Vice President and chairman of the EMT cannot be
absolved of blame for the uninspiring performance of the Finance Minister and the Governor.

The resignation of Dr. Ernest Kwamina Yedu Addison is meaningless unless it is linked with the ousting of Ken Ofori-Atta. Indeed, ‘making noise’ in a sustained manner by all citizens, is the way to go to ensure that the right things are done in the country before the end of Akufo-Addo-Bawumia’s regime.

Thus, the #OccupyBOGProtest should be extended to #OccupyFinanceMinistryProtest to demand their exit.