The Price of Stability: Prof Turkson Defends Costly Fight Against 54% Inflation

By Boakye Stephen, Kumasi, Ghana | Reporting for Ghanaian News, Canada

Prof. Ebo Turkson has defended the Bank of Ghana’s controversial monetary policies, arguing that economic stability always comes at a cost.

“We would not expect… to be successful… without incurring any cost.”

At the peak of crisis:

“Inflation hit 54 per cent.”

To control this, aggressive policies were deployed:

Interest rates increased

Liquidity withdrawn

Bonds issued

This came with consequences:

Rising interest costs

Financial pressure on the central bank

“As we fought inflation… the policy rate went up, and interest costs also rose.”

This contributed to the reported:

GH¢15.6 billion loss

Yet Turkson reframes the debate:

The central bank’s job is not profit, it is stability.

“The objective analysis… is whether it met its mandate or not.”

COMMENTARY | BOAKYE STEPHEN

Stability is not free.

But cost without visible relief creates public doubt.

The question is not whether we paid a price,

it is whether the price produced felt results.