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Liquidity withdrawn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.
