After hours of what many have described as a peaceful protest, including the Head of Security at the Bank of Ghana, Wing Commander Kwame Asare Boateng, the leadership of the #OccupyBoG demonstration finally reached the precincts of the Central Bank.
As was the intention of the group that has been demanding the resignation of the Governor of the BoG, Dr. Ernest Addison, they hoped to present a petition to the man at the helm of affairs.
In the extreme case, the Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, expected that either of the two deputies of the Governor would step in to receive the petition.
This, however, was not the case.
Instead, the Head of Security at the Bank of Ghana, Wing Commander Kwame Asare Boateng, was sent in place to receive the document on behalf of the Governor.
The group, however, refused to hand over the petition to this representative of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, but before that, the Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, made a statement.
GhanaWeb has transcribed everything the leader in parliament said before the group dispersed. Read it below:
“So, first, let me say that I feel very disrespected as the leader of the opposition in parliament for s simple reason that we demanded to present a petition to the Governor of the Central Bank of the republic of Ghana, otherwise known as the Bank of Ghana. The Governor has two deputies, namely deputy 1 and deputy 2.
“Unfortunately, he has decided to disrespect us and his two deputies have also decided to disrespect us by not being here and to receive our petition. We never said we are going to present our petition to the head of security or to someone in charge of security, with all due respect.
“They have actually mismanaged the affairs of the central bank; they have mismanaged the affairs of monetary policy. Today, Ghana, our beloved country is on its knees. you are not the one responsible, and we will not give you our petition. Let me also say that, in summary, this governor, and this Bank of Ghana, led by Governor Addison, has unilaterally printed up to GH¢80 billion in two years without recourse to parliament. Asides, they have, unilaterally, written off about GH¢48 billion in government debts.
“Let me say that all of this was done without parliamentary approval, and let the governor be aware that, in fact, printing of money is like an alcoholism; the good effect, or the perceived good effect comes immediately, but the hangover comes after the party. Governor Addison printed money to finance the champagne lifestyle of this President Akufo-Addo and Bawumia lifestyle on an akpeteshie budget. Today, this country is on its knees.
“We will not accept it. The Central Bank of Ghana today is bankrupt; you are insolvent. You have a negative equity of GH¢55.1 billion and a loss, one year, of GH¢60 billion. You have again projected to incur additional debt in the year 2023 and counting. We will not you, going forward, to disrespect us and mismanage the affairs of the people of Ghana.
“Your act, Bank of Ghana, indeed, pushed 850,000 Ghanaians down the poverty line and we will hold you accountable, particularly the governor. We are demanding his exit and now that he has decided to disrespect us, we will not present our petition. We will go and come back again; we will come back here again, and we will come back and demand to see him in person. The crowd you’ve seen is just the beginning. We will come back again, and I assure you, trust me, we will come back again. He should better come in here.
“If he thinks that the IMF is mor important that the Parliament of Ghana; if he thinks the IMF is more important that the people of Ghana, he’s here because of the people of Ghana, and not IMF. So, let him deal with IMF, but we’ll come after him; we will come after him. Until we see him, we are not stopping. This is just the beginning – a lot more will come."
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