The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has defended its decision to continue building a new head office despite a 10.5 billion cedi loss in 2023. Last year, the BoG paid $82 million to contractors for the project, despite financial difficulties.
The project has faced scrutiny, with MP Yusif Suleman questioning its feasibility during a Public Accounts Committee hearing. Stephen Opasa, Special Advisor to the BoG Governor, argued that the project is too far along to stop.
He made it clear that other than development costs, there were other reasons for the bank’s losses.
Although Mr. Opasa accepted the concerns expressed by Mr. Suleman, he contended that because the contractors were already on site, it would have been wasteful and expensive to stop the project midway.
“The alternative was to stop the project. While we understand the perspective of minimizing losses, the losses in 2023 and 2022 were not solely due to this project. Halting it might not have been the best decision given the circumstances, with contractors actively engaged and the project significantly advanced.”
The bank is requesting a government bailout to recapitalize and support its policy goals, which coincides with the BoG’s defense.
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