High Court dismisses application to strike out suit against BoG
An application seeking to strike out the suit in which a retiree has sued the central bank over the depreciation of the cedi has been dismissed by the High Court in Accra.
In a ruling, the court, presided over by Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay, upheld arguments made by the retiree’s lawyers, saying the suit was not an abuse of the court process.
She added that the plaintiff’s suit was founded on gross negligence, a justiciable cause of action, dismissing claims by lawyers for the Bank of Ghana (BoG) that there was no reasonable cause of action for the retiree to bring the matter before the court.
The application was filed by lawyers for the BoG, who believed the suit was an abuse of the court process.
With this out of the way, the court will now go into the merit of the substantive case, in which Balbir Violet Allan, a resident of Adabraka, has sued the BoG and Dr Ernest Addison for allegedly failing to develop or implement any credible plan consistent with the law to stabilise the currency.
Background
In a writ filed at the Accra High Court, the plaintiff, Allan, who has sued the BoG and Dr Addison, contends that the Governor assumed office in February 2017 at a time when the cedi-dollar exchange rate was GH¢4.26 to $1, but left office in February 2025 with a surged rate of GH¢15.49 to $1, representing a depreciation of approximately 264 per cent.
The plaintiff claims that the significant decline in the cedi's value has caused substantial losses in her investments' value and purchasing power in government treasuries, particularly ESLA Bonds.
She argues that while the law mandated the Bank of Ghana, through its Governor, to provide the state with a stable currency, the second defendant allegedly chose to allow the value of the cedi to be determined solely by market forces, including demand and supply on the foreign exchange (forex) markets, leading to its instability and volatility.
Reliefs
Ms Balbir said that unless the court granted an order to recover her losses, she would have no recourse for recovery or restitution of the lost value of investment capital.
She is, therefore, asking the court to lift the corporate veil shielding the Bank of Ghana and to hold both the bank and the former Governor jointly and severally liable for her investment losses.
Among other reliefs, the plaintiff is seeking a declaration that the second defendant had been grossly negligent, allegedly in the management of the cedi through the first defendant (BoG).
Also, a declaration that the exchange rate losses she had suffered were enforceable against both defendants, jointly and severally.
