CENTRAL BANK, KOFORIDUA, AND THE FINANCIAL CITY

The ancient spent a great deal of their time in decorating their cities they founded. These cities had different purposes for those that initially decided to build them, therefore, they brought all the talented men they had in the community to help plan how they should be organised. Though this was not the practice followed meticulously by all statesmen, still in the histories of some European countries such as France and Russia, we had famous kings who devoted enormous amount of time and resources to plan and build their cities which they founded; in the case of the latter King it was named after him. I am talking about Peter the Great of Russia and St Petersburg. Louis XIV of France did a superb job in connection with the building of France. In his time he achieved political and social stability. In modern terms he had charisma and it was during this age that scholars such as Descartes, Pascal, Corneille, Racine, Moliere, La Fontaine, Bossuet, and many others works and thoughts shaped Western culture profoundly. Louis's taste of architecture made him brought famous Italian sculptors who strenuously accomplished a lot for his country by decorating the famous palace and the city's surroundings.

We had also mentioned how during the Renaissance great painters and sculptors utilised all the opportunity they had to borrow from the ancients concerning their superb works. In Italy, for instance, Brunelleschi, the sculptor went to Rome, studied meticulously the ancient ruins, and then subtly joined together columns and pilasters, arches and pediments in original buildings of incomparable harmony and grace. It was well known that other painters and sculptors copied antique sarcophagi and collected coins and inscriptions. Because they were inspired by the excellent works of Greeks and Romans, they covered the walls and ceilings of the peninsula with classical quotations: “swags and garlands, Nereids and Tritons, fauns and nymphs; Roman armour, standards and trophies; the gods and goddesses of Olympus.”

We want to build modern Ghana not because we have all the resources available on this earth, but because this time we want to take our own lives into our hands and utilise the meagre resources we have even to initiate these developments that will give us the impetus to continue when the oil starts booming. Unlike our neighbours we will not squander the resources we shall obtain; we shall invest in industrialisation so that when the oil and the minerals are no more giving us the needed revenue we shall have something to fall back on. That is the determination we have at this crucial moment of our history, and so “May God help us”!

Today, I am suggesting Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana as the financial city of Ghana that should contain the future Central Bank of Ghana. This is due to its proximity to the capital city, Accra, and also the Harbour at Tema. The city has very good scenery being surrounded by mountains. In terms of the people that live there, we can assert that we have every possibility to trust and count on their hospitality, kindness, and co-operation. They are well-polished and having moved originally from the “garden city” and its surroundings cities they have had the taste of the rudiments of democracy of the Kingdom that we all yearn to emulate.

As I mentioned elsewhere it is always good for a country to have different cities that should contain certain things that are strategically important. It would ease the congestion we have at present at the capital city and will call for new developments in the city. This means that there must be future plans to build a new Central Bank House which should also be robust. Remember the advice I gave concerning the use of powerful and talented architects to work on this, and think of the advice given to us by the famous Roman architect, Vitruvius, who said once that a good building should satisfy the three principles of firmitatis utilitatis venustatis, which translates roughly as:

• Durability - it should stand up robustly and remain in good condition.

• Utility - it should be useful and function well for the people using it.

• Beauty - it should delight people and raise their spirits.

With the choice of Koforidua as the financial city of Ghana it can be possible to integrate the regional development we talked about sometime ago. We need to do that for Ghana has the potential of being developed to become one of the most prosperous countries in the continent of Africa. Therefore, any building to be put up must go through examination prior to allowing it to be commenced. All the hotels to be built also have to be examined and be given a go-ahead first by the Regional commissioner, who, in terms of position, will become one of the most powerful politicians in the country. It is the attempt to make the power structure too complex such that no mediocre will be allowed to ascend the thrown in the Golden Jubilee house without having gone through the rigorous methods pertaining to constitutional election in the country. Koforidua will, therefore, play a role in the election of the most powerful man in Ghana, that is, the President of the Republic of Ghana.

It is therefore of utmost importance that the regional commissioner should be given a go-ahead to plan this development in good time when the Republic of Ghana's Parliament has voted on this issue concerning Koforidua as the future financial city of the country.

By Desmond Ayim-Aboagye

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