Ghana: Protests rock Accra as youth demand dismissal of central bank governor

Thousands of young people in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, took to the street to demand the immediate suspension of the Central Bank Governor. They accused him of mismanagement of the apex bank while promising that the protest will continue until he’s removed from office. Ghana has been struggling with biting economic conditions, its worst in recent years. Kamil Sodiq has more…

Ghanaian youth in their thousands marched through the capital Accra on Tuesday, demanding that the central bank governor be kicked out of office for allegedly mismanaging the economy during the biggest debt crisis in a decade.

The demonstrations tagged ‘Occupy Bank of Ghana’ are the latest expression of dissatisfaction with growing costs of living, unemployment, and suffering in one of West Africa’s most stable democracies.

Dressing in red and black, the protesters marched to the apex bank headquarters head office under the supervision of riot police, calling for bank governor Ernest Addison and his two deputies to resign.

Last month, Accra, the capital, was engulfed in similar protests which lasted for several days.

The opposition also accused the Bank of Ghana’s Governor for committing a high offence by printing GH ₵ 77 billion without parliamentary approval in violation of Section 30 of Act 981 of BoG Act.

Protests about surging prices of goods and other economic issues erupted in fights with police last year.

In May, the government signed a $3 billion, three-year loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund, but critics argue the government has done too little to assist families struggling to make ends meet amid the prolonged downturn.

Ghana is facing its worst economic crisis in decades as the price of goods rose at an average of 41% over the past year and candidates are expected to campaign along this line among others.