The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Asiama, has reaffirmed the central bank’s commitment to transparency and stakeholder engagement, emphasizing the need to restore public trust in the institution during his speech at the National Economic Dialogue, 2025.
He addressed concerns about financial technology (FINTECH), cryptocurrency transactions, and private sector growth, while also outlining significant reforms in monetary policy communication.
Dr. Asiama acknowledged the increasing relevance of financial technology and its intersection with cryptocurrency, particularly in the realm of remittances.
“There is a linkage between FINTECH companies that are into remittances and crypto transactions. These are significant areas we are looking into. Our committee has recommended that we should probe further,” he stated.
This signals the Bank of Ghana’s growing interest in understanding and regulating digital financial services to ensure stability and security within the financial sector.
Dr. Asiama assured business leaders that the Central Bank is ready to deepen collaboration, expressing his optimism about the role of the private sector in economic growth.
“Listening to the private sector growth, for me, it made my day. They asked for two things, and I want to assure them that we are going to do exactly that,” he said.
One of the key demands from the private sector was for regular meetings with the central bank, a request that aligns with Dr. Asiama’s vision for a more transparent and inclusive monetary policy framework.
“They want to meet with us once every month, and that underscores our vision of being transparent. It is about restoring public trust and helping Ghanaians understand what we do as a central bank,” he emphasized.
To demonstrate this commitment, Dr. Asiama revealed plans to take engagements beyond conference rooms and into key commercial hubs.
“I was telling the GUTA president, for example, that we are coming to Makola. We are coming to sit with traders and explain why, for instance, we need to raise or lower interest rates,” he added.
The Governor announced a significant reform in how the Bank of Ghana communicates monetary policy decisions.
“When I assumed duty, one of the things I said was that with the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), you don’t get to hear the individual positions of members—whether they voted to keep the rate the same, increase it, or lower it. All you hear is that it was a unanimous decision. But in actual fact, there are divergent views in those sessions,” he explained.
He assured that going forward, individual submissions by members of the MPC will be made public, starting this month.
“So now, you will get to understand the basis on which actions were taken. That is at the core of what we do. We want academia, the media, and the private sector to understand that we are all in the same boat,” he stated.
Dr. Asiama highlighted that monetary policy decisions, such as interest rate hikes, are sometimes necessary despite their short-term impact on lending rates.
“Sometimes, you need to increase the rate not because you don’t want to see lower lending rates, but because of risks—whether it’s the exchange rate or inflation. But whatever we do, it is important that stakeholders understand our reasoning,” he noted.
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Asiama added that as part of the transparency drive, the Bank of Ghana will now publish individual MPC members’ positions in newspapers after each policy meeting.
“Members of the Monetary Policy Committee will be accountable this time. The public will get to hear why they took the positions they did, and we will publish it in the newspapers after the MPC ends,” he announced.
Story by Freedom Lavoe.
