Ghana President Picks Central Bank Governor

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has chosen Johnson Asiamah as the West African country’s next central bank governor, pending approval by the Council of State, the presidency said on Friday.

Asiamah has worked at the Bank of Ghana for more than 23 years. From 2016 to 2017, he served as a second deputy governor of the central bank.

“He has over the years demonstrated commitment to implementing sound monetary and exchange rate policy, fostering a stable financial system, as well as promoting accelerated economic growth in Ghana,” the president’s office said in a statement.

The current governor, Ernest Addison, is due to retire from the bank at the end of March and will go on leave from Feb. 3.

Mahama was sworn in in early January, pledging to overcome public discontent by boosting the economy and creating much-needed jobs. He inherited an economy emerging from its worst economic crisis in a generation, with turmoil in the vital cocoa and gold industries.

His administration has yet to formally publish its economic policy plans, which was cited by the central bank on Monday as one reason why it kept its key lending rate (GHCBIR=ECI), opens new tab unchanged.

The Bank of Ghana targets inflation of 8% with a margin of error of 2 percentage points either side of that, but the annual rate is currently well above that at over 23% in December (GHCPIY=ECI), opens new tab.

The bank said on Monday that its latest forecasts showed it would take longer for inflation to return within the 6%-10% range.

Reuters/Shakirat Sadiq