The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has disputed assertions by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the construction of its new $250 million headquarters is a waste of taxpayers’ money in this time of economic crisis.
The Central Bank has said its current head office, built by the Nkrumah Government in the early 1960s, is no longer fit for purpose and cannot stand any major earth tremors.
Addressing the NDC’s Moment of Truth press conference, Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, expressed strong concerns about the central bank’s decision to proceed with the new head office.
Dr Forson bemoaned that such a move, given the current circumstances, is an exhibition of insensitivity towards managing the financial affairs of a nation grappling with challenges.
But in a statement, BoG explained that the construction was informed by a structural integrity assessment conducted on the building.
“The outcome of the structural integrity work was that the main building does not satisfy the full complement of excess strength required for a building to be considered safe for usage.
“This means that in the case of a worst-case gravity and wind loading scenario, for example, unusually strong wind, the building may be significantly affected,” BoG justified.
It added, “Based on the above, and looking at the strategic objective of positioning Ghana as the financial hub of the subregion, with prospects of a potential headquarters for a future regional central bank, the board and management of the bank considered a new head office building as the most important priority project to support the operational efficiency of the bank, and also position the Bank of Ghana in a very good position to be the host of the regional central bank as we currently host the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) of the Sub-region.”
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