The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has challenged the government to provide concrete assurances that any plan to sell the new headquarters of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has been permanently shelved, insisting that official denials alone are insufficient.
The demand follows claims that the central bank was considering selling its new headquarters under a sale-and-leaseback arrangement. The Bank of Ghana has since dismissed the reports, describing them as false and misleading.
However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, the opposition party said that while it had taken the central bank at its word following its June 2 denial, lingering concerns remained because the proposal had previously been publicly raised by Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson.
According to the NPP, Dr Forson stated during an appearance on Joy News’ PM Express on March 11, 2025, shortly after presenting the national budget, that the Bank of Ghana should “look within” for recapitalisation options and had “a choice to sell and lease back” its new headquarters.
The party argued that those comments, coupled with a recent media report detailing an alleged $260 million sale-and-leaseback proposal, had created legitimate concerns about whether the option was still being considered within government circles.
“We acknowledge the Bank’s denial and take it at its word that no such transaction is on the table today,” the party said.
“However, the government must substantively abandon the idea.”
The NPP maintained that if the government genuinely has no intention of pursuing such a transaction, it must demonstrate that commitment through clear policy measures rather than public statements alone.
As part of that process, the party called on the government to publish a detailed recapitalisation plan for the central bank, setting out the funding sources, financial instruments, and timelines for restoring the institution’s financial position.
According to the NPP, selling the headquarters would not resolve the underlying causes of the Bank of Ghana’s financial difficulties but would instead amount to exchanging a long-term national asset for a short-term financial solution.
The party further cautioned that a sale-and-leaseback arrangement could saddle the central bank with long-term rental obligations while relinquishing ownership of a valuable and appreciating public asset.
It also raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, arguing that entities regulated by the central bank could ultimately emerge as owners or financiers of the property.
The statement noted that the government and the Bank of Ghana have already agreed on a phased recapitalisation programme spanning 2026 to 2032.
The opposition therefore urged authorities to focus on implementing that programme rather than exploring asset sales.
In addition, the NPP called on the government to halt policies it believes are worsening the central bank’s financial position and to provide greater transparency regarding efforts to restore the institution’s balance sheet.
“The Bank Square belongs to the people of Ghana. It is not a distressed asset to be auctioned to plug a hole that prudent policy should never have created,” the NPP said.
While the Bank of Ghana has repeatedly described reports suggesting it is considering the sale of its headquarters as “false and misleading,” the NPP insists that the government must go beyond denials and provide clear evidence that the proposal has been definitively ruled out.
Source: citinewsroom.com
