The Board Chairman of Afro Arab Microfinance Company limited Alhaji Salamu Amadu has commended the governor of Bank of Ghana(BOG) Dr. Ernest Addison for the bold step he took to help stabilise the financial sector.
Alhaji Salamu believes the move by the central bank to "cut interest rates" in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic is worthy of praise.
"Desperate times ask desperate measures", he said on his Facebook wall.
"I salute you Dr. Ernest Kwamina Yedu Addison Governor Of Bank Of Ghana . Ghana First in Sub-Saharan Africa to Cut Rates to Combat Virus".
Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African country to cut interest rates in response to the coronavirus pandemic, reducing its benchmark to an eight-year low.
The monetary policy rate was reduced to 14.5% from 16%, the first cut since January 2019, the Bank of Ghana said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. The Monetary Policy Committee was originally scheduled to announce its decision on March 23.
Growth in gross domestic product could decline to 5% and could even slow to 2.5% in a worst-case scenario, said the central bank. The International Monetary Fund’s most recent growth forecast for Ghana was 5.6%.
Alhaji Salamu Amadu won the 40 under forty banking and finance award in 2019.
Chairman Salamu as he is affectionately called in the business arena has contributed tremendously to make sure poverty becomes history in the zongo communities.