The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has justified the construction of a new headquarters.
The Central Bank in a statement on August 9 explained the current BoG Head Office building, built by the Nkrumah Government in the early 1960s, is no longer fit for purpose.
It said a structural integrity assessment conducted on the current office revealed that the building did not satisfy the full complement of excess strength required for a building to be considered safe for usage.
According to the Board and Management of the Bank, they considered a new Head Office building as the most important priority project to support the operational efficiency of the Bank as the current Office cannot withstand earthquakes
“A structural integrity assessment conducted by the BoG revealed that the current BoG Head Office building, built by the Nkrumah Government in the early 1960s, is no longer fit for purpose and could not stand any major earth tremors.”
“The outcome of the structural integrity work was that the main building does not satisfy the full complement of excess strength required for a building to be considered safe for usage. This means that in the case of a worst-case gravity and wind loading scenario, for example, unusually strong wind, the building may be significantly affected.”
“The building also does not have the required strength to withstand the expected imposed significant earthquake loads that would be expected to occur in the Accra area. Based on the above, and looking at the strategic objective of positioning Ghana as the financial hub of the subregion, with prospects of a potential headquarters for a future regional Central Bank, The Board and Management of the Bank considered a new Head Office building as the most important priority project to support the operational efficiency of the Bank, and also position the Bank of Ghana in a very good position to be the host of the regional Central Bank as we currently host the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) of the Sub-region.
BoG's response comes after Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) press conference on Tuesday questioned why Dr Ernest Addison is spending $250 million to build a new head office for the central bank at a time the Bank is in financial difficulties.
He accused the BoG Governor of printing money to finance this project.
“The Bank of Ghana does not have money but spending $250 million for a new head office, which means he is printing additional money to finance this project,” Dr Forson alleged.