Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Asiama, has reaffirmed the central bank’s independence and operational strength despite being technically insolvent following the domestic debt exchange.
He assured that the Bank remains fully functional and committed to safeguarding monetary and financial stability.
“The domestic debt issue has impacted, to a large extent, on our balance sheet. The central bank itself is policy solvent, but then, technically, you can say we are almost insolvent. The challenge is to be able to correct and to repair our balance sheet within a short time, but we are looking at it as a medium-term problem. And that said, operationally, we are able to function,” he clarified.
He also rejected claims that the Bank’s weakened financial position had subjected it to government influence.
Dr. Asiama further disclosed that the BoG is advancing legislative amendments to strengthen its autonomy and eliminate future risks of fiscal dominance.
“A number of reforms that we are making to the Central Bank Act should permit us to be able to hold that anchor going forward,” he explained. “We need to define, for example, what constitutes an emergency… So yes, the legislation will help to strengthen our independence going forward.”