Mr. Ato Forson, the Minority’s Spokesperson on Finance speaking at the forum on Wednesday wants Dr. Bawumia to among other questions explain to Ghanaians why an independent central bank, with a focus on price stability, will lower the policy rate in the face of the dwindling net international reserves and a rising interest rate abroad.
Mr. Forson, is the second to ask a sitting vice president questions on the economy. Dr. Bawumia during the campaign in the run up to the 2016 general elections, asked the late Vice President Paa Kwasi Amissah Arthur to answer some 170 questions when Mahama was in office.
The five question by the Minority led by Mr. Ato Forson are:
Question 1: Why would an independent central bank with focus on price stability decide to reduce the monetary policy rate against its own research findings that US policy normalization is strengthening the US dollar and causing investors to move funds away from emerging economies and that upward adjustment in domestic prices of petroleum products are likely to affect transport and utility prices?
Question 2: Why would an independent central bank, with a focus on price stability, decide to lower the policy rate in the face of dwindling net international reserves and a rising interest rate abroad?
Question 3: Why would an independent central bank with a focus on price stability decide to reduce the monetary policy rate in favour of growth, which has been projected to be higher than the previous year’s, while the local currency is under pressure?
Question 4: Why would an independent central bank with a focus on price stability decide to lower the policy rate in the face of excess liquidity in the banking sector emanating from banks increasing their minimum paid-up capital by over 100 percent, while the local currency is fast depreciating?
Question 5: Clearly, an economy cannot be externally unstable and internally stable. How can a rapid exchange rate depreciation be accompanied by a single digit inflation rate as captured by the posted macroeconomic indicators?
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By: Sammy Agyei/Frontpageghana.com/Ghana
