If all governor Ernest Addison has is the money he prints, then his disrespectful posture towards the protestors who stormed his office at the Bank of Ghana is a portrayal of “high-level poverty,” Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Edward Van Gyampo, has averred.
In an open letter written to the governor Thursday, October 5, 2023, the social commentator noted the governor had no right to dictate to taxpayers how they should react to spending their money which he has mismanaged with his “abysmal incompetence.”
“Please Governor, printing money does not make you owner of human life and human rights and respectfully, sir, you portray a certain high-level poverty, if all you have, is the money you have printed, which makes you arrogant in insulting tax payers who are unhappy with your abysmal performance,” portions of Prof. Gyampo’s letter contained.
His letter follows the governor’s description of protestors at the OccupyBoG protest as hooligans who embarked on a completely unnecessary demonstration.
The Minority was joined by the Arise Ghana group and other members of the public to protest the “mismanagement and incompetence” of governor Addison to resign with his two deputies after incurring a loss of GHC60.8 billion in the financial year 2022.
A negative equity of GHC55.1 billion was also incurred during the period in question.
In a response given through an interview with international business website, Central Banking, Dr. Addison described the protest as “completely unnecessary”, saying they had channels to channel their grievances rather than demonstrating as hooligans.
He says neither him nor his deputies would step down as being demanded by the group after saying the bank’s losses were due to the government’s domestic debt exchange programme and the high depreciation of the Cedi against the major trading currencies at the period in review.
“The Minority in parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilised societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans,” Addison added in reference to the #OccupyBoG protest.
According to Professor Gyampo, how Dr. Addison is behaving is not how “Governors G.K Agamah, K. Dufuor, P. Acquah, and N. Ishahakku handled the BoG. These chaps were simply sober and competent.”
The President of the University of Ghana chapter of UTAG also said the governor is going to account for his stewardship either in tears or smiles when power changes hands.
