The Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) says it expects the next Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to immediately arrest the current slide in the value of the cedi against the other trading currencies, particularly the dollar, or risk running what it described as an economic stabilisation programme after the December 2012 general elections.
�The immediate challenge for the incoming governor will be to stop the slide in the cedi,� the Executive Secretary of CEPA, Dr Joe Abbey, told graphic.com.gh in an interview in Accra.
The position of Governor of BoG became vacant following the elevation of the Governor, Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, to the position of a Vice President.
The first deputy, Dr Henry Akpenamawu Kofi Wampah, is currently acting and has been highly tipped to succeed his former boss.
�If the incoming governor does not succeed in that regard (stop the cedi from further depreciation), then he/she will have to stabilise the economy next year and that will have dire consequences on growth and job creation,� Dr Abbey added.
The cedi has since January this year lost more than 20 per cent of its value to the US Dollar. The fear is that the situation could worsen into the year.
Given that a continuous depreciation of the cedi has direct consequences on economic stability and investor confidence in the economy, Dr Abbey said solving it is more eminent than any other issue, a task the next Governor should not belittle.
He has, however, added that the root cause of the depreciation was not a monetary issue but �as a result of excess expenses and anxiety in an election year.
�The problem is a fiscal one and the next governor will definitely need support from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning as well as Ghanaians,� he said.
The CEPA Executive Secretary has meanwhile tipped the first deputy and current acting Governor of BoG, Dr Wampah, as the one to become the next governor.
Dr Abbey said elevating Dr Wampah to the position of a governor will not only ensure continuity of regulatory and monetary policies in the economy but would also serve as an opportunity for the country to tap from his vast expertise in the economy and research.
�I think the first deputy, Dr Wampah, will be the one to replace Amissah-Arthur. That will be on the basis of his solid expertise in the area of research and the need for continuity of monetary policies,� Dr Abbey said.
While admitting that most Ghanaians, home and abroad, were equally qualified to take up the governor position, the CEPA Executive Secretary said Dr Wampah had �a solid background in research and has gathered experience at the bank, having worked there for so many years.�
Dr Abbey, however, added that he would not be surprised if someone outside the bank was chosen as governor given that the immediate past governor, Mr Amissah-Arthur and his predecessor, Dr Paul Acquah �were themselves outsiders.
�The likelihood that Dr Wampah will become the governor doesn�t mean that it is a precedent. It is the experience gathered from his long service in the bank that matters,� he said.
Prior to becoming the first deputy governor of BoG in 2009, Dr Wampah was the Director of the Research and Statistics Department of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) where he was responsible for the supervision and coordination of the department�s activities.
According to his curricular vitae, he supervised the planning and implementation of a macroeconomic convergence monitoring programme for the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) area. He is also said to have been involved in preparing the five member countries of the zone � The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone � for monetary uniformity in the areas of macroeconomic convergence and policy harmonisation.
Before joining WAMI in 2001, Dr Wampah was the Head of BoG�s Research Department, a position he held for five years.
He has also headed the Public Finance and Statistics Offices under BoG�s Research Department.
�With all apologies to the second deputy and other competitors, I think that Dr Wampah has an upper hand and is better placed to take the governor position. He has the experience and he is somebody who will be able to hold his own against any person that may be interested in the job,� Dr Abbey noted.
The current second deputy governor and the Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Ghana are the possible contenders for the governor job.
Source: Maxwell Adombila Akalaare/D-graphic
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