Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has opined that loathing the use of coins has the tendency of affecting the inflationary objective of the bank.
In a bid to avoid the use of coins, Dr. Addison stated that rounding off prices by vendors in order to avoid using coins negatively affects the Central Bank’s inflation objective.
When a delegation from the National Commission for Civic Education, led by Chairperson Kathleen Addy, visited the central bank, the Governor emphasized the significance of coins and noted that coins are more durable and less expensive to produce than currency notes.
Dr. Addison grieved over the carelessness of some Ghanaians in handling currency notes and urged the National Commission for Civic Education to play a vital role in the Central Bank’s “Clean Notes Campaign” initiative by educating citizens on how to handle the Ghanaian currency properly.
Also, the NCCE should assist the Central Bank in educating the public on the appropriate handling of currency notes, Dr. Addison pleaded.
Ms. Addy, the newly appointed Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education disclosed the purpose of their visit by saying that the delegation’s visit was to introduce herself as the new overseer and also explore with the Central Bank, areas of mutual collaboration.
The newly appointed NCCE Chairperson mentioned that the NCCE is an independent, non-partisan institution established by the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, with the mission to educate citizens on their rights and responsibilities, as well as to promote the establishment of democracy in Ghana.
Ms. Addy remarked about the significant role of the NCCE in educating and raising awareness among the Ghanaian public during the Central Bank’s redenomination of the cedi in 2007.
The meeting ended with Ms. Addy thanking the Governor for the warm welcome at the Central Bank and welcomed the proposal to increase public education on the appropriate handling of the local currency notes.
Accompanying the Chairperson were Lawyer Victor Brobbey, Commission Member, Mrs. Lucille Hewlett Annan, the Acting Commission Secretary, Dr. Imurana Mohammed, the Director of Programmes and Ms. Monica Mamattah, the Director of Finance.
The Governor’s team included 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 Central Bank officials.
Coins Vrs Notes: Durability and Convenience of the Ghanaian Coins
The durability of the coins is one reason for the central bank’s printing out of the Ghanaian one cedi and two cedis coins to replace the notes.
There are however concerns raised about the bulkiness and weight of the coins when they are carried around in huge quantities thus the preference by the citizenry for notes.
Some Ghanaians have also opened up on the tendency of the coin falling off relative to the notes during their mobility.
With these concerns, the central bank’s talk about the durability of the coin as opposed to the notes holds true, raising questions about the convenience of the coin.
Another reason the central bank gave for replacement of the cedi notes was to manage the costs involved in producing more notes.
This has been the main challenge of the bank as the currency notes that often get soiled, dirty and torn return to them to be replaced, thus, making them incur more costs on printing the notes as compared to the coin.
In this vein, the coin seems more convenient for the central bank but not its users.
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