BoG signals shift from crisis management to growth strategy
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has signalled a shift in economic policy direction from crisis management to sustaining growth, indicating growing confidence in the country’s economic recovery path.
Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Bankers Ghana (CIB) roundtable discussion post Monetary Poiicy Committee (MPC) meeting last Wednesday, the Director of Research at BoG, Dr Philip Abradu-Otoo, said the focus of policy discussions had moved from whether the economy could stabilise to how to maintain stability while driving growth.
He made the remarks on the topic “Balancing Stability and Growth: Interest Rates Impact in Geopolitical Shocks”.
Dr Abradu-Otoo, who represented the Governor of the BoG at the event, said the country’s economic conversation had evolved significantly compared to recent years when there were concerns of the economy.
He said earlier directions focused on inflation control, exchange rate stability and the country’s ability to meet its debt obligations.
“We were no longer asking whether the economy could stabilise but how to sustain stability and support growth under current conditions,” he said.
He said monetary policy remained a key tool in managing the transition, affecting households, businesses and financial institutions.
He added that the central bank continued to engage stakeholders as part of its inflation-targeting framework to ensure transparency and accountability.
“The Bank of Ghana explained its decisions to help anchor inflation expectations and maintain confidence in the financial system,” he said.
Dr Abradu-Otoo said the central bank had strengthened collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Bankers Ghana to build capacity within the financial sector.
He said the partnership aimed to improve professional standards and ensure long-term stability.
“We will continue to work with stakeholders to strengthen the financial sector and support sustainable growth,” he said.
Stakeholder engagement
The Vice-President of the CIB, Togbe Asiama Krakani V, said the seminar was part of efforts to deepen public understanding of monetary policy.
He said the platform also encouraged broader participation in policy discussions beyond the central bank.
“This platform supported policy education and helped promote informed debate on monetary decisions,” he said.
Togbe Krakani said the institute had conducted a pre-MPC survey to gather views from industry players to support policy discussions and commended respondents and the institute’s research team for contributing to enhance the quality of engagement.
“The survey helped provide insights from the market to support discussions on monetary policy decisions,” he said.
Background
Members of the MPC highlighted risks from global geopolitical tensions, particularly rising crude oil prices, supply chain disruptions and potential global financial tightening, which could push up inflation.
As a result, while most members supported a reduction in the policy rate to support growth, they emphasised the need for a cautious and measured approach to avoid undermining inflation stability.
The BoG reduced its policy rate to 14 per cent at the March 2026 MPC meeting, although the decision was not unanimous.
Five members of the committee supported a 150 basis points cut, converging on arguments including declining inflation, improving macroeconomic conditions and stronger external buffers, while one member preferred to maintain the rate at 15.5 per cent due to concerns about external risks.
