Court Adjourns BoG Case Indefinitely

The case between a private legal practitioner, Dr. John Ephraim Baiden and the Bank of Ghana has been adjourned indefinitely A legal practitioner sued the Bank of Ghana over the depreciation of the cedi. The Supreme Court postponed the case on Thursday. The Cedi recently depreciated by about 40% against the dollar and other currencies, a situation which forced traders to increase prices of goods and services, thus increasing the cost of living for Ghanaians. In September, the cedi however experienced some level of stability against other major trading currencies. Dr. Baiden however maintained the Central Bank failed in its duties to stabilize the Ghanaian currency. According to Dr Baiden, the BoG was enjoined by the 1992 Constitution and the Bank of Ghana Act to maintain a stable currency for the benefit of Ghanaians and businesses. Dr Baiden who filed the lawsuit in his capacity as a Ghanaian citizen said he lost wealth through foreign exchange rate losses. He is therefore pleading with the court to direct the BoG to provide a stable currency. �We have a constitution that actually constrains �or mandates the Central Bank to give us a stable currency and for years they have been able to deliver. This matter is in the interest of constitutionalism. It is also in the interest of what we call juristic economics�For us to act, there is a Supreme Court to interpret the Act and then make the Bank of Ghana become accountable for its actions �� the legal practitioner stated. While some Ghanaians have criticized the Bank of Ghana for its inability to tackle the cedi depreciation, others believe the governor of the BoG, Dr. Wampah should be held responsible for the challenge. The Member of Parliament(MP) for Manhyia South, Matthew Opoku Prempeh earlier asked President Mahama to dismiss the governor for his failure to take measures to halt the cedi depreciation