Ato Forson Was BoG Board Member When Process For New HQ Building Began - Richard Ahiagbah Claims

Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party Richard Ahiagbah, has made the allegation that Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader in Parliament, was a member of the Bank of Ghana-led Board that initiated the process of constructing a new headquarters building.

According to him, discussions on the construction of a new headquarters building started in the 1990s, but the processes towards actually constructing the structure didn't start for several more years.

Cassiel Ato Forson, who was serving on the Banks' board as Deputy Finance Minister under the Mahama-led administration, was a part of the discussions with an individual to purchase the land for the purpose at a cost of $2.5 million per acre placed surrounding Achimota forest, as indicated by Mr. Ahiagbah. The land in question is located around Achimota forest.

In an interview that aired on the Newsfile programme of Accra-based Joy News on August 12, 2023, the Director of Communications for the NPP revealed that although the BoG Board withdrew from the negotiations at some time, a settlement amount of $1.2 million had to be given to the individual in order to resolve the matter.

"He [Ato Forson] was a member of the Bank of Ghana board member at the point where they were in government and this conversation about building a new headquarters didn't start today but in the 1990s when the Bank of Ghana decided to build a whole new place due to the current location being caught up with surrounding developments," Ahiagbah claimed. "He [Ato Forson] was a member of the Bank of Ghana board member at the point where they were in government."

"I'm mentioning Ato Forson because he was part of the Board that was looking for a parcel of land to buy for this particular purpose of building a new BoG headquarters while he was serving as part of the Banks' Board," he continued, "and to the extent that there was an individual who was offering a piece of land around Achimota forest for $2.5 million per acre."

Richard Ahiagbah went on to emphasise that during this time period, there have been ongoing negotiations in which Ato Forson, when serving as Ato Forson under the administration of the NDC, had committed to purchasing a 20-acre piece of property for the purpose of constructing a new BoG headquarters.

"The BoG Board actually issued a directive to proceed with the negotiations, but they had to pull out at a point, and in doing so, there was a settlement cost of $1.2 million," the NPP Communications Director stated. "The BoG Board actually issued a directive to proceed with the negotiations."

As a result of this, Richard Ahiagbah demonstrates that the discussion over the establishment of a new headquarters for the Bank of Ghana did not spring up out of nowhere.

"The discussion of constructing a new Board of Governors headquarters predates the current Governor [Dr. Ernest Addison], but it dates back to the 1990s era," he was certain about saying.