Completely abandon idea of selling BoG headquarters — NPP urges gov't
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on the government to completely abandon any plans to sell the new headquarters of the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
The call follows media reports alleging that the Bank was considering the sale of its new headquarters for about $260 million, with plans to lease the facility back from the buyer.
However, the central bank, in a statement issued on June 2, dismissed the report as false and misleading, noting that no such transaction was under consideration and urging the public to disregard the publication.
Reacting in a statement on June 9, the NPP's Finance and Economic Policy Committee said although it acknowledged the Bank's denial, it remained concerned that the idea could still be under consideration within government circles.
The party argued that the proposal did not originate from media speculation but was first publicly raised by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson during a March 2025 appearance on JoyNews' PM Express, where he suggested the central bank could consider a sale-and-leaseback arrangement as part of efforts to address its financial challenges.
"Taken together with the Finance Minister's own earlier suggestion, it is the considered view of the New Patriotic Party that the idea remains alive within Government, and that what the country saw this week was the Government testing the waters," the statement signed by Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Co-Chair of the NPP's Finance and Economic Policy Committee, read in part.
The NPP stressed that selling the central bank's headquarters would not amount to genuine recapitalisation but rather an expensive form of borrowing against a national asset.
According to the party, the arrangement would leave the Bank with a long-term rent burden while relinquishing ownership of an appreciating asset, without addressing the underlying causes of its financial difficulties.
"Selling the central bank's headquarters and renting it back is not recapitalisation. It is expensive borrowing against a national asset. The Bank does not become solvent by selling its building. It simply swaps a permanent asset belonging to the people of Ghana for a one-off cheque and a long bill for rent," the statement stressed.
The NPP further urged the government to publish a detailed recapitalisation plan for the Bank of Ghana, including funding sources and implementation measures, while calling for an end to policies it believes are worsening the central bank's financial position.