The planned protest march to the Head Office of the Bank of Ghana, initially scheduled for Tuesday, September 5th, 2023, has been rescheduled to Tuesday, September 12th, 2023.
The Minority in Parliament, in collaboration with various Civil Society Organizations, made this decision following legal hurdles encountered during court proceedings on September 4th, 2023.
The route for the march remains the same, starting from the frontage of Parliament House, leading through Osu Cemetery Traffic Light, Ministry of Finance, High Court Complex, Kimbu, Makola, Rawlings Park, Opera Square, and culminating at the Bank of Ghana’s headquarters.
The postponement was prompted by the inability of the court to provide an immediate ruling due to substantial preliminary legal objections raised by lawyers representing the Minority in Parliament.
The court has requested additional time to consider these objections and is expected to deliver its ruling on Friday, September 8th, 2023.
In a statement, Hon. Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader, emphasized their commitment to the rule of law: “As law-abiding citizens respectful of the judiciary, we have had to reschedule taking into consideration these developments.”
The protest’s primary demand is the resignation of Governor Ernest Addison and his two deputies, citing their alleged gross mismanagement of the Central Bank, resulting in an unprecedented loss of GH¢60.8 billion and a negative equity of GH¢55.1 billion.
Furthermore, the protestors have raised concerns about the alleged illegal printing of over GH¢80 billion and the construction of a new head office costing over $222 million, which far exceeds the initial recommendation of $81 million by the Public Procurement Authority.
The legal objections stem from a petition filed by the Ghana Police Service, seeking to restrict the planned protest along the routes proposed by the Minority and their coalition of Civil Society Groups.
Despite these challenges, the demonstrators remain resolute in their quest to exercise their constitutional right to protest.
Hon. Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson reassured Ghanaians, saying, “We wish to call on Ghanaians to remain vigilant in the fight to protect our constitutional right to demonstrate and hereby assure them that the march to the Bank of Ghana Head Office will certainly take place.”