[ 2012-08-05 ]

Next BoG Governor must stabilise cedi - CEPA
The Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) says it
expects the next Governor of the Bank of Ghana
(BoG) to immediately arrest the current slide in
the value of the cedi against the other trading
currencies, particularly the dollar, or risk
running what it described as an economic
stabilisation programme after the December 2012
general elections.

“The immediate challenge for the incoming governor
will be to stop the slide in the cedi,” the
Executive Secretary of CEPA, Dr Joe Abbey, told
graphic.com.gh in an interview in Accra.

The position of Governor of BoG became vacant
following the elevation of the Governor, Mr Kwesi
Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, to the position of a Vice
President.

The first deputy, Dr Henry Akpenamawu Kofi Wampah,
is currently acting and has been highly tipped to
succeed his former boss.

“If the incoming governor does not succeed in that
regard (stop the cedi from further depreciation),
then he/she will have to stabilise the economy
next year and that will have dire consequences on
growth and job creation,” Dr Abbey added.

The cedi has since January this year lost more
than 20 per cent of its value to the US Dollar.
The fear is that the situation could worsen into
the year.

Given that a continuous depreciation of the cedi
has direct consequences on economic stability and
investor confidence in the economy, Dr Abbey said
solving it is more eminent than any other issue, a
task the next Governor should not belittle.

He has, however, added that the root cause of the
depreciation was not a monetary issue but “as a
result of excess expenses and anxiety in an
election year.

“The problem is a fiscal one and the next governor
will definitely need support from the Ministry of
Finance and Economic Planning as well as
Ghanaians,” he said.

The CEPA Executive Secretary has meanwhile tipped
the first deputy and current acting Governor of
BoG, Dr Wampah, as the one to become the next
governor.

Dr Abbey said elevating Dr Wampah to the position
of a governor will not only ensure continuity of
regulatory and monetary policies in the economy
but would also serve as an opportunity for the
country to tap from his vast expertise in the
economy and research.

“I think the first deputy, Dr Wampah, will be the
one to replace Amissah-Arthur. That will be on the
basis of his solid expertise in the area of
research and the need for continuity of monetary
policies,” Dr Abbey said.

While admitting that most Ghanaians, home and
abroad, were equally qualified to take up the
governor position, the CEPA Executive Secretary
said Dr Wampah had “a solid background in research
and has gathered experience at the bank, having
worked there for so many years.”

Dr Abbey, however, added that he would not be
surprised if someone outside the bank was chosen
as governor given that the immediate past
governor, Mr Amissah-Arthur and his predecessor,
Dr Paul Acquah “were themselves outsiders.

“The likelihood that Dr Wampah will become the
governor doesn’t mean that it is a precedent. It
is the experience gathered from his long service
in the bank that matters,” he said.

Prior to becoming the first deputy governor of BoG
in 2009, Dr Wampah was the Director of the
Research and Statistics Department of the West
African Monetary Institute (WAMI) where he was
responsible for the supervision and coordination
of the department’s activities.

According to his curricular vitae, he supervised
the planning and implementation of a macroeconomic
convergence monitoring programme for the West
African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) area. He is also said
to have been involved in preparing the five member
countries of the zone – The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,
Nigeria and Sierra Leone – for monetary uniformity
in the areas of macroeconomic convergence and
policy harmonisation.

Before joining WAMI in 2001, Dr Wampah was the
Head of BoG’s Research Department, a position he
held for five years.
He has also headed the Public Finance and
Statistics Offices under BoG’s Research
Department.

“With all apologies to the second deputy and other
competitors, I think that Dr Wampah has an upper
hand and is better placed to take the governor
position. He has the experience and he is somebody
who will be able to hold his own against any
person that may be interested in the job,” Dr
Abbey noted.

The current second deputy governor and the
Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Ghana are the
possible contenders for the governor job

Source - GRi

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