Mahama Nominates Dr Johnson Asiamah As New Bank Of Ghana Governor, Ernest Addison To Retire

• President John Mahama has nominated Dr Johnson Asiamah to serve as Governor of the Bank of Ghana
• Asiamah previously served as a Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana between 2016 and 2017
• Addison is proceeding on leave ahead of his retirement in March after serving two terms as governor

President John Mahama has nominated Dr Johnson Asiamah to serve as Governor of the Bank of Ghana replacing Dr Ernest Addison pending approval by the Council of State.

Asiamah previously served as a Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana between 2016 and 2017.

The presidency noted that the nominee holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Southampton, UK and has extensive experience in monetary policy formulation, financial stability regulation and economic research.

Citi News reported that Addison will from Monday, February 3, 2025, proceed on a terminal leave as he prepares for retirement on March 28, 2025. Addison served two full terms as governor of the Central Bank.

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His tenure in the last few years was marred with controversy as Ghana wrestled with an economic crisis.

For example, the Bank of Ghana lost GH¢55.12 billion due to haircuts that its investments suffered under the controversial Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) under him.

Dr. Johnson Asiamah's previous legal troubles

Asiamah faced prosecution for his alleged role in the collapse of UT Bank and uniBank.

He was charged alongside Dr Kwabena Duffuor over alleged dishonest spending of funds belonging to customers and investors of the defunct bank.

Asiamah was charged with two counts of breach of Section 46(h) of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612) and Section 46A of the Bank of Ghana (Amendment) Act, 2016 (Act 918) (ii) causing financial loss to the state.

uniBank Ghana Limited, a private bank founded by Dr Duffuor who once served as Governor of the Bank of Ghana, as well as UT Bank founded by Kofi Amoanbeng, were two of the insolvent financial institutions that were closed down by the government during the banking sector clean-up exercise between 2017 and 2018.

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Bank of Ghana launches gold coin

YEN.com.gh reported that the Bank of Ghana launched the Ghana Gold Coin (GGC) as a new financial instrument to diversify the public’s investment options.

The coins were made available on November 26, 2024, in three denominations: 0.25 oz, 0.50 oz and 1.00 oz.

Their prices are set at GH₵11,188.12, GH₵22,409.74 and GH₵45,020.48 respectively.

According to the Central Bank, these prices were based on the previous day’s London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) PM gold price, which was set at $2,635.40, and the Bloomberg USD to GHS exchange rate of 15.7500.

An advisor at the Bank of Ghana, Dr Steve Opata, said the Central Bank was trying to ensure inclusivity with the coins.

Proofread by Samuel Gitonga, Copy Editor at YEN.com.gh

Source: YEN.com.gh