The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison has said that Ghanaians aversion towards the use of coins has an impact on the pricing of goods in the country.
He said in a bid to avoid the use of coins, vendors round off prices and this negatively impacts the Central Bank’s inflation objective.
Emphasising the importance of coins, he said coins were more durable and less costly to produce than currency notes.
The Governor said this when a five-member delegation from the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) paid a courtesy call on him.
The delegation was led by the Chairperson, Kathleen Addy.
Dr Addison also appealed to the NCCE to help the BoG in its public education on the proper handling of currency notes.
He lamented that some Ghanaians handle currency notes poorly and urged the NCCE to play a key role in the Bank’s “Clean Notes Campaign” initiative, including helping to educate citizens on the proper handling of the Ghana currency notes.
On her part, Addy mentioned that the purpose of the visit was to introduce herself as the newly appointed Chairperson of the NCCE and to also discuss areas of mutual collaboration.
She stated that the NCCE was an independent, non-partisan governance institution established under the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana with a mandate to educate citizens on their rights and responsibilities, as well as work towards entrenching democracy in Ghana.
Addy remarked that the NCCE played a key role in the education and sensitisation of the Ghanaian public during the Bank’s Cedi redenomination exercise in 2007.
Addy expressed gratitude to the Governor for the warm reception at the Bank and welcomed the proposal to intensify public education on the proper handling of the Ghana currency notes.
The Chairperson was accompanied by a Commission Member, Lawyer Victor Brobbey, the Acting Commission Secretary, Mrs. Lucille Hewlett Annan, the Director of Programmes, Dr. Imurana Mohammed and the Director of Finance, Ms. Monica Mamattah.
In the Governor’s team were the First and Second Deputy Governors, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari and Mrs. Elsie Addo Awadzi, the Director of Research, Dr. Philip Abradu-Otoo, the Bank’s Secretary, Ms. Sandra Thompson and other officials of the Bank.