Mr. Benjamin Kofi Quashie, Chairman of the Council of Elders of the South African National Democratic Congress, has strongly criticized the Bank of Ghana’s staggering expenditure of 97.4 million cedis on foreign travel and 1.316 trillion cedis on domestic travel, motor maintenance, and operational costs.
He raised questions about the necessity of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) utilizing high-end vehicles like Jaguars and Rolls-Royce for their operations, given the substantial amount of money being spent.
In a telephone interview, Mr. Benjamin Quashie expressed deep concern over the excessive utilization of taxpayer funds by the BoG. He pointed out that despite the complaints about financial constraints, the Bank of Ghana had been involved in substantial money printing for the government. He highlighted that in just the years 2021 and 2022, the BoG had printed over ¢80 billion, raising inquiries about the reasons behind such decisions and the resulting ramifications for the nation.
Furthermore, Mr. Kofi Quashie disclosed that a significant portion of the ¢80 billion allocated for the government had been classified as bad debt, specifically ¢48 billion. He emphasized that this situation had dire consequences, pushing nearly 850,000 Ghanaians into poverty.
According to the Chairman of the South African Council, the government’s extravagant and thoughtless spending reflects a lack of consideration for the welfare of the Ghanaian population, displaying a lack of sensitivity to their struggles.