Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Finance and Leasing Company Limited, Ken Thompson, says overcoming government’s overspending will be the biggest challenge for the newly appointed Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Abdul-Nashiru Issahaku.
Dr. Abdul-Nashiru Issahaku replaces Dr. Kofi Wampah, who took early retirement at a time when his performance has been largely criticized.
Dr. Issahaku, until this appointment, was a deputy Governor of the Bank.
[contextly_sidebar id=”q7g0Deu2RITHy7YdqTFxn7unqhMrgT5q”]Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News, the Dalex CEO expressed the hope that Dr. Issahaku would revive the economy and outlined two critical benchmarks he should meet; key among them being restraining government spending
“I have every confidence in him and I am glad that the President has surprised us and I hope that he is able to explain things to us in a candid manner and is able to restrain the government from overspending. Those are the critical things.”
According to Mr. Thompson, the failing of Ghana’s economy over the past two decades can be attributed to the inability of government to abstain from overspending hence the need for Dr. Issahaku to put his foot down on that front.
“I am looking for a governor like Paul Acquah who was bouncing government checks. That’s what we are looking for because it’s very clear to all of us that we have to spend within our means. We have not secured our future because we have been unable to spend within our means for over 25 years,” he explained.
Mr Thompson also addressed the some of potential criticisms that could be leveled against the new BoG boss like the relatively short time he has spent with the bank and his lack of a conventional economics background.
“The fact that he hasn’t been long at the bank is neither here nor there. What we need is someone who is confident, who has vision, who can inspire confidence in the economy… and the person who can help the government to live within its means.”
As far as Dr. Issahaku’s lack of a strong economics background is concerned, Mr Thompson explained that it should not be any cause for concern because being an economist is not an essential requirement to the job.
“There are a lot of instances of people who take up position and are able to execute very effectively based on their own ability and based on the team they can assemble around them.”
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By Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana