WELCOME REMARKS BY DR. ERNEST ADDISON, THE
GOVERNOR OF THE BANK OF GHANA ON THE OCCASION OF THE VISIT OF H.E. THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO
AUGUST 25, 2020
Your Excellency,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good Morning and a very warm welcome to you.
Mr. President, it was way back in August 1, 1957, that the Bank of Ghana had the privilege of receiving the then Prime Minister, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, at the Bank of Ghana Head Office premises for the opening ceremony of the Bank as the central banking institution of the country.
About 39 years later, in 1996, the then President, Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings, commissioned the rehabilitated Cedi House Complex. And, today, 63 years after the Bank of Ghana opened its doors, we deem it a privilege and honour to have the sitting President of the Republic giving us a very pleasant surprise visit. This time, there is no ceremony, no commissioning of a new building, but by no means an extraordinary visit in annals of the central bank.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Management, the staff, and on my own behalf, I am immensely pleased to welcome His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President of our Republic to the Bank of Ghana.
Your Excellency, the history of the Bank of Ghana is intertwined with that of the governance of the country. And the Bank of Ghana – in playing its role as the guardian of the value of the currency and the efficiency and stability of the financial system, and as a promoter of development goals – has been central to shaping the economic transformation and development of this country. And, it is for this reason that we see this visit as critical and historic.
Your Excellency, the Bank of Ghana, over the last three and half years, has played a critical role in the government’s transformation agenda. Through reforms that were effectively coordinated with the fiscal authorities, macroeconomic stability was re-established following the significant imbalances at the end of 2016. Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ghanaian economic was once again classified among the fastest growing economies in the world, under your leadership. Growth averaged [7] percent; inflation was reduced significantly and maintained in single digits and well within the Banks target range, and exchange rate stability was well anchored. In fact, the economy had all the ingredients for broad-based inclusive growth. And […]