A former Second Deputy Governor of Bank of Ghana Johnson Pandit Kwesi Asiama (PhD) will return to the central bank as substantive governor, a release from the presidency has said.
Asiama’s appointment comes as Ernest Addison (PhD), who has been the governor since April 2017 prepares to retire.
“Dr. Asiama’s appointment follows the recent receipt and acceptance of a formal request from the current governor Dr. Ernest Addison to proceed on leave leading to his retirement on 28th March,” the release said.
The newly appointed governor comes to the role with a wealth of experience in monetary and macroeconomic policy management.
Asiama with a previous 23-year experience at Bank of Ghana, holds a PhD in economics from the University of Southampton, as well as MPhil and B.A in economics from the University of Ghana, Legon.
During his tenure as deputy governor between 2016 and 2018, he supervised a number of key departments of the central bank, including research and statistics, banking supervision, financial stability, other financial institutions supervisory, banking, and the finance departments.
Prior to becoming a deputy governor, he was assistant director at the research department of the central bank, administering the framework for monetary policy formulation, including the work of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
Between 2005 and 2010, the in-coming governor was in charge of the real sector unit of the research department, where his duties included monitoring real sector developments in the economy and advising on the role of the central bank in enhancing real economic outcomes such as employment, output, and poverty reduction.
Between 1996 and 2001, Asiama served at the banking supervision and the financial markets departments of the central bank before moving to the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) based in Lagos, Nigeria where he was the Director of the Macroeconomic Management Department between 2010 and 2013.
Since 2018, the new governor has been in private practice as the executive chairman of Wessex Investments and Consultancy Ltd, an Accra-based private consultancy, which specialises in economic research and the provision of advisory services with a focus on project financing.
He is a member of the American Economic Association (AEA), a non-profit, nonpartisan, scholarly association dedicated to the encouragement of economic research, and a number of publications to his credit.
The incoming Bank of Ghana Governor also has academic stints, having taught various undergraduate courses in International Monetary Theory and Policy; Principles of Macroeconomics; Principles of Microeconomics, Statistics for Economists; Economics of the Environment at the University of Southampton, England.
He is an old boy of Bishop Herman College in Kpandu, Volta Region, where he did his SC/GCE “O” Level and St Peters Secondary School in Nkwatia- Kwahu where he sat for his SC/ GCE “A”Level.
Asiama is married with two children.
Meanwhile, the central bank announced in a press release on Friday 31st January that Addison would commence his terminal leave on Monday, 3rd February 2025.
The release said Addison’s tenure as governor effectively ends on 28th March, after serving two successive terms.
“Accordingly, Dr. Ernest Addison has decided to take his accumulated leave effective Monday, 3rd February, 2025ahead of his retirement from the bank on 28th March, 2025. This has received approval from President John Mahama,” the central bank stated.