Monetary policy expert, Ernest Addison, named Bank of Ghana Governor

Nashiru Issahaku leaves Bank of Ghana for personal reasons

Ernest Addison – a senior monetary policy expert – was on Thursday named Governor of the Central Bank of Ghana, a day after his predecessor – Nashiru Issahaku – resigned for personal reasons.

Addison, who in the early 2000s was a leading architect of Ghana’s monetary policy, has been a lead economist at the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Stabilize national finances

The announcement comes as president Akufo-Addo’s young administration seeks to stabilize national finances and review with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the terms of a US$918 million financial aid deal aimed at reducing inflation, public debt and the fiscal deficit.

The fiscal problems and a decline in global prices for Ghana’s exports of gold and oil have led to a sharp slowdown in growth in a country that until 2014 had been one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.

The central bank cut the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points in January to 25.5 percent and by a further 200 basis points on Monday in what economists say is the start of an easing cycle as inflation falls.

Ghana’s finance minister earlier issued a statement saying a new governor would be named in the next few weeks to replace Issahaku, who had held the post since April 2016.

Source: Reuters