Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Asiama, says one of his top priorities is to end the long-standing reliance on the U.S. dollar for domestic transactions.
He wants to make the Ghana cedi the sole currency of trade and payment in the country.
Speaking in an interview with the IMF at the ongoing IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC, Dr Asiama said de-dollarisation has become central to achieving monetary and price stability.
He described the persistence of dollar use in Ghana’s economy as a structural weakness that undermines the effectiveness of monetary policy.
“So my mandate is clear — to achieve price and financial stability. It’s been eight months now. I believe we are on course. We are on course towards achieving that. But a couple of things bother me.
“First of all, the issue of dollarisation. You know, I’ve seen this for many years. I started central banking some 30 years ago. The phenomenon has been there, and so we are tackling it,” he said.
Dr Asiama disclosed that the central bank will use the upcoming Cedi at 60 celebration to launch a renewed campaign to promote exclusive use of the local currency in all transactions.
“On the 28th of this month, we are having the Cedi at 60 celebration. The local currency will be 60 years old this year, and we want that to mark a new beginning, because when we use the local currency in all transactions, that enhances the efficiency of monetary policy.”
He stressed that reducing dollar dependence would be one of the key legacies he hopes to leave behind.
“It’s at the core of most of our problems, and so it’s one of the things I would want to be remembered for — that I came, I solved that problem, I made the local currency the currency of choice,” he noted.
Dr. Pandit also outlined a broader vision for the Bank of Ghana, emphasising the need for institutional agility to keep pace with global financial evolution.
“The next thing is to have a central bank that is agile, a central bank that is ready and able to contend with the new challenges that most central banks face,” he said.
He cited the rise of fintech and cryptocurrencies as new areas of risk requiring proactive regulation.
“As I said when I started my career some 30 years ago, many of the things we are seeing now weren’t there. For example, fintechs — we do not have fintechs those days.
“But I believe that if not handled properly, fintechs, for example, in that area could be an area where a risk could emerge going forward.
“And so we are looking at that industry well. We are mending the legislation there as well. And then you have the cryptocurrencies as well. This is another challenge for central banks,” he said.
Dr Asiama said his goal is to position the central bank as a forward-looking institution capable of responding to emerging risks with confidence and flexibility.
“What I want to see is a central bank that is ready and able to adapt. It is critical today. It could be something else tomorrow. It could be anything. Who knows. But we should have the manpower, we should have that agility, we should have the balance sheet to be able to contend with any of these risks as they emerge in the future. That’s what my vision is,” he concluded.
Source: Abubakar Ibrahim
ALSO READ: