A Board Member of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Isaac Adongo, has defended the performance of the central bank under the current administration, describing the institution as being “safe in the hands” of the government due to prudent monetary policy management and improved financial performance.
Speaking on GHOne TV’s current affairs programme, State of Affairs, Mr. Adongo dismissed claims that the Bank of Ghana was policy insolvent, insisting that recent audited accounts showed significant improvements in the bank’s financial position.
According to him, the Bank of Ghana achieved a policy solvency surplus of GH¢5.5 billion, which he said was enough to cover monetary policy costs and support part of the bank’s operational expenses.
“What that means is that we were able to generate enough revenue to cover monetary policy costs and leave a difference of GH¢5.5 billion to defray part of the general operational costs of the Bank of Ghana,” he explained.
Mr. Adongo questioned criticisms from some quarters regarding the bank’s financial health, arguing that the current management had outperformed the previous administration in monetary policy management.
“You got only GH¢700 million. Somebody got GH¢5.5 billion and you are saying the one who got the GH¢5.5 billion is policy insolvent,” he stated.
The BoG board member also disclosed that the current administration had introduced changes in the way policy solvency is measured to ensure a more accurate reflection of revenues directly linked to monetary policy operations.
He explained that revenues from subsidiaries such as the Bank of Ghana Hospital, Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), and the Central Securities Depository were previously included in policy revenue calculations, despite having little direct connection to monetary policy.
“We said those are not policy revenues. So we are changing the policy to reflect what is truly policy revenue,” he noted.
Mr. Adongo further praised the current board and management of the central bank, saying they were benchmarking the Bank of Ghana against some of the best central banks globally.
He maintained that the reforms and financial discipline being implemented by the current administration had strengthened confidence in the country’s central bank and its monetary policy direction.
Source:www.kumasimail.com
