The Managing Director of CAL Bank, Mr. Frank Adu Jnr has hit hard at critics of outgoing governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Henry Kofi Wampah, describing the criticisms as unfounded.
According to him, Dr. Wampah has undergone a lot of difficult moments to work on stabilizing some macroeconomic indicators in the country.
“It is very easy when you are not the person doing the job to criticize the person doing the job, you have know idea the difficulty that a governor of a central bank has to go through, you have no idea the skill set that such a person requires”, he said.
Mr. Adu disclosed that the governor has gone through turbulent times during his tenure which has affected his health.
“Please the man is not a small person, he has done his bit for this country, he has served his time, he has been taken ill as a result of the difficulties and pressures of his work”, he said.
Describing the criticism as conspiracy against the governor, Mr. Adu stated that Ghanaians must allow the governor to take his retirement peacefully as he bows out of service.
Dr. Wampah’s exit
Wampah, whose term officially ends on August 5, told Reuters he had informed President John Mahama of his intention to leave by the end of this March 2016, adding the decision was partly linked to presidential and parliamentary elections planned for November.
“I told him I wanted to leave office early and we have agreed that I will exit at the end of March,” Wampah said.
“It is just fair to leave early in order to give enough room for my successor, whoever it might be, to settle down before we get to the elections.”
He said one of his two deputies, either Millison Narh or Abdul Nashiru Issahaku, was expected to serve as interim central bank governor until President Mahama chooses a permanent successor.
Once considered a rising star in Africa, Ghana, which exports cocoa, gold and oil, has been dogged by large budget deficits, ballooning public debt and inflation that consistently tops government targets.
Dr.Wampah’s appointment
President Mahama appointed Dr.Wampah amid serious fiscal imbalances caused mainly by election spending in 2012 and a burdensome public sector wage bill that complicated the bank’s task of managing the money supply.
Dr. Wampah responded with a string of monetary policy reforms, including tighter foreign exchange liquidity management to slow inflation. Earlier, Citi Business News had reported of a possible exit by the Governor as pressure mounted on him to do so.
This also followed his approach in managing a number of issues in the banking sector.
The bank held its benchmark interest rate at 26 percent in its latest rate decision last week.
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By: Lawrence Segbefia /citibusinessnews.com /Ghana