What financial sector expects of next BOG governor

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March 30, 2016 8:18 AM

A cross-section of financial sector players have criticised the performance of outgoing governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Henry Kofi Wampah during his tenure.

The outgoing Bank of Ghana governor was one of the worst the central bank has had in recent years.

This is according to the MP for New Juabeng South who is also an economist, while other financial analysts say Ghana deserves better in the future.

They cite the poor performance of the Ghana cedi against other major currencies and the Microfinance Scandals that have rocked the country lately.

This sets the background to what is expected of the next governor of the bank.

Financial analyst Sydney Casely Hayford expects the next governor to prioritize the role as a moderator of government expenditure.

In an interview with Pulse Business, Dr. Laud Mensah, Banking and Finance lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School said election years are mostly periods of unbridled spending by government, and will need a resolute governor of the Central Bank to keep government in check.

“ The governor must take stringent steps to curb the Bank of Ghana’s overdraft to government and have the resolve to follow the due process for checks that ensures that government sticks to expenditure limits, especially in election times.”

Dr. Mensah added “The most important thing the governor of the Central Bank needs to do is to strive for its independence. This should help him strive to take decisions that are not politically restrained.”

Dr. Henry Wampah announced his resignation as the governor of the Bank of Ghana with effect from Friday, 1, April 2016.

It is however unclear if the governor is resigning over the current series of scandals he has been embroiled in.

The Bank of Ghana has been accused of poor supervision of microfinance companies by President John Dramani Mahama, referring to the DKM and other related microfinance scandals.

The governor more recently caught more negative media attention when his son in law was uncovered to be a British drug lord wanted by the British law enforcement agencies for massive levels of narcotic crimes.

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