The governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, has defended the construction of a new head office building at a cost of $250 million, saying that it is not just a simple ordinary building, but a modern and secure facility that meets the requirements of a central bank of international standards.

0

He said that the building, which is being modelled on similar central bank head office buildings in Abuja and Dakar, would include state-of-the-art facilities such as data centres, currency processes, vaults, and other sensitive installations.

1

The project has attracted criticism from some sections of the public and the minority in parliament, who have questioned the rationale and the cost of the building amid economic hardship and alleged procurement breaches.

2

Dr Addison, however, said that the bank followed all the necessary public procurement processes in undertaking the project and did not break any procurement laws.

3

He also gave a brief history of how the project evolved over the years, saying that the bank had been searching for suitable and secured land for a new head office since the 1990s, but faced several challenges in acquiring vacant possession of various lands allocated to it by the Lands Commission.

4

He said that it was only in 2018 that the bank was able to acquire a 5.19-acre land at Ridge near the Ridge Hospital from SIC, with the help of an executive instrument issued by the government. He said that SIC was duly compensated for the land.

5

Dr Addison explained that the decision to commence construction was taken in 2019 when the bank generated profits. He said that appropriations for the head office were made each year from profits in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

6

He submitted that the project which has been going on for over three years and is about 50 per cent complete and that he was fully aware of the need to ensure that the costs do not escalate beyond reasonable levels and that many of the original design features have been deferred, and only grey boxes provided for future use to manage costs.

7

He made these statements at a special press briefing on August 21, 2023, where he also addressed other issues relating to the bank's 2022 financial statement and its role in supporting the government during the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

8

He said that he hoped that his statement would help to put the project into perspective and to clarify key issues that had arisen.

9

https://www.scribd.com/document/666381031/Press-Conference-Presidential-Elections-Committee-on-Super-Delegates-Elections

10

11

Source: The Independent Ghana | P.M.A Roberts

12