What is this? – Dormaahene kicks against BoG’s US$250m new head office

The Dormaahene, who doubles as a High Court judge, lamented that this was not the time for the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to expend such huge sums of money in building an office complex.

In a news report carried by Accra-based TV3, he is heard questioning how and why the apex bank will use the equivalent of one-twelfth of the US$12 billion International Monetary Fund bailout that Ghana is currently accessing to build an office.

“We heard suddenly that the Bank of Ghana, are using as much as a 12th of the quantum of loan we are getting from the IMF, to build a house. What is this? So, is it a case of them doing whatever they so please, my chiefs, I don’t understand this.

“Are they acting like this because of their autonomy? How can the Bank of Ghana unilaterally undertake such a project?” he quizzed while speaking in state with his subchiefs.

He called on president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to intervene and get the BoG to stand down on its plans.

“We appeal to the president to call the Bank of Ghana and to discuss this issue to with them. We expect something good to come of it because the bank is not entirely independent,” he lamented.

The facility, which is costed at US$250 million according to the Minority in Parliament, has attracted a lot of reactions since the apex bank confirmed that it was indeed building a new head office.

The BoG in response to a press statement by the minority stated last week that the new office complex was necessary principally for security and other reasons, stressing that the current location was not safe in the case of an earthquake.