Professor Ransford Gyampo has lashed out on the governor of Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, for his description as “hooligans”, participants of the OccupyBoG demonstration.
After telling him he will account for his stewardship either in heaven or hell or probably in prison, the University of Ghana professor wants to know from his open letter if governor Addison is a “demi-god or deified ancestor incarnate.”
His question was contained in an open letter to the BoG governor for exhibiting what he has described as arrogance and disrespect to the people of Ghana amid his (Addison) display of incompetence in managing the estate he has been entrusted.
‘Your response to the tax payers and demonstrators is unprecedented. You want to determine how they voice their dissatisfaction about your abysmal performance? You described them as hooligans for demonstrating against you? Please who are you? Are you a demi-god or some deified ancestor-incarnate?
“It appears you have a very infinitesimal understanding of the system of government we have decided to operate and I strongly recommend that you take lessons in the tenets of democracy, that creates the kind of environment conducive for your work and for all us to thrive. Otherwise, your attitude is going to be the cause of many demonstrations that would peak our political temperature and create unnecessary tension,” he said in his letter.
Prof. Gyampo’s letter follows the governor’s description of protestors as hooligans who embarked on a completely unnecessary demonstration.
The Minority was joined by the Arise Ghana group and other members of the public to protest the “mismanagement and incompetence” of governor Addison to resign with his two deputies after incurring a loss of GHC60.8 billion in the financial year 2022.
A negative equity of GHC55.1 billion was also incurred during the period in question.
In a response given through an interview with international business website, Central Banking, Dr. Addison described the protest as “completely unnecessary”, saying they had channels to channel their grievances rather than demonstrating as hooligans.
He says neither him nor his deputies would step down as being demanded by the group after saying the bank’s losses were due to the government’s domestic debt exchange programme and the high depreciation of the Cedi against the major trading currencies at the period in review.
“The Minority in parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilised societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans,” Addison added in reference to the #OccupyBoG protest.
According to Professor Gyampo, how Dr. Addison is behaving is not how “Governors G.K Agamah, K. Dufuor, P. Acquah, and N. Ishahakku handled the BoG. These chaps were simply sober and competent.”
