|
| IEA urges BoG to be open to the public |
1/19/2007 |
|
Accra, Jan 18, GNA - Dr Kwabena Anaman, Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), on Thursday called on the Bank of Ghana (BOG) to be more open to the public with its programmes and policies at discussion level to prevent surprises such as the cedi re-denomination policy.
He noted that the announcement of the re-denomination of the cedi came as surprise to the general public since there was no consultation with the 22 million Ghanaians or even their representatives at various levels.
Dr Anaman was speaking at a roundtable organized by the IEA to discuss the dynamic analysis of inflation in Ghana. His call came in the wake of a contribution by a representative of the BoG to the effect that the Central Bank of late considered more variables than just money supply growth as a determinant of inflation. He said; "it is obvious that the BoG is doing many things but this is why you need to open up to the public and let us know exactly what you are doing at BoG."
Dr Anaman said BoG could not continue to keep the public in the dark about what it was doing, only to surprise the public with sporadic policy announcement.
"You have to consult the public before coming out with policies because the economic growth of this country does not rest with Dr Paul Acquah (Governor of BoG) and his team at BoG. It would take the effort of all the 22 million Ghanaians to increase GDP", he said.
Dr Anaman, however, praised Dr Acquah for resilience against political pressure saying that in the era of General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong increased currency printing to meet wage increase demand at the time was one of the main causes of the collapse of the Ghanaian economy, but the current Governor had been firm against printing of more money over a long period.
"Dr Acquah is not the type of person, who would succumb to the whims and caprices of the powers that be to print more money and he has proved that with his firm monetary policies since he took office." BoG representative at the roundtable, who preferred anonymity, told the Ghana News Agency that the Bank in recent times conducted research among 50 businesses in the country to ensure that business and consumer confidence were factored into determining inflation levels.
He said contrary to the suggestion by some economists that money supply growth caused inflation in the short term; money supply increase in Ghana over the past three months did not have a negating effect on inflation trend.
The BoG representative said the Central Bank had established a website as a channel to reach out to the public with its policies and programmes, adding that in the coming months the Bank would be organizing roundtable and other such forums as a way of stepping up consultation with the public.Source:
GNA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
