Relocate routes for protest against BoG governor – Police tells Minority

The Accra Regional Police Command has expressed discomfort with the routes selected by the Minority caucus in parliament for their protest to demand the resignation of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and his deputies.

According to the Police, the routes selected by the minority may endanger public safety and order.

The Police Service has, therefore, asked the Minority to relocate the routes and the destination of picketing in the interest of public order, public safety and running of essential services.

The police said this in a statement issued in Accra on Wednesday.

“Following the security assessment, on 23 August 2023, the Command engaged the organisers and assured them that the Police are ready to provide them the needed security to exercise their constitutional right to demonstrate.”

“However, Police drew their attention to the fact that using their selected routes may endanger public order and public safety among others. We, therefore, requested the organisers to relocate the routes and destination of picketing in the interest of public order, public safety and running of essential services,” the statement said.

The statement said that the police are waiting to hear from the organizers to enable them to provide them with the necessary security during the protest.

“We would like to assure the public that the Police will continue to deliver on our mandate, as we work together to deepen our democratic credentials as a country,” the statement added.

The Minority had earlier said it had reached a consensus with the police on the modalities of its planned protest at the Bank of Ghana Head Office on September 5, 2023.

In response to what they perceive as the reckless management of the central bank and the GHC60 billion losses incurred in its 2022 financial report, the Minority issued a 21-day ultimatum to Dr. Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, and his deputies, to resign.

Following a closed-door meeting with the police at the Greater Accra Regional Police Headquarters, Deputy Minority Leader Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah told journalists, that all necessary arrangements have been made for the forthcoming demonstration against the management of the Bank of Ghana.

The protest is set to take place at the Bank of Ghana Head Office, with the Minority aiming to voice their concerns about what they describe as the mismanagement of financial resources and the resulting economic implications.

A leading member of the pressure group, AriseGhana, Bernard Monarh, who joined the minority for the meeting with the Police criticized the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, for his justification of the new headquarters for the central bank.

In an earlier interview with the Police, Mr Mornarh was also concerned about the printing of money by the Bank in the years 2021 and 2022 which it attributed to recklessness and corruption.

“We hold the view that the illegal printing of money by BoG in the year 2021 and 2022 to the tune of GH¢77 billion to finance the recklessness of the corrupt Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government, in flagrant disregard of section 30 of the BOG Act (as amended) is the height of irresponsibility and must be condemned by all well-meaning Ghanaians.”

Source: citinewsroom