I start my day with Trump, oil and gold prices – BoG Boss

Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor, Dr. Johnson Asiama, says his day begins with tracking developments in the United States and movements in global commodity markets.

Speaking at the Ghana-UK Investment Summit on Monday, Dr. Asiama said he closely follows statements and actions by the U.S. President, as well as changes in oil and gold prices, because of their impact on the global economy.

“My day starts at 6 in the morning. The first thing I do is to check what the President of the US has said and did not say a day before,” he said.

“Then of course what is happening to oil prices, what is happening to gold prices. If it looks good, I’ll know I’ll have a good day.”

The Governor used the occasion to discuss the leadership style he has adopted since returning to the central bank. He said one of the major changes introduced by the current management has been a stronger focus on consultation and engagement with stakeholders.

According to him, years spent outside the institution gave him a different perspective on how the central bank was viewed by the public.

“One of the major things we brought on board from last year when we got in was to adopt a consultative approach,” he said.

“We decided to demystify the Central Bank.”

Dr. Asiama explained that while away from the institution, he paid close attention to public discussions and criticism directed at the central bank.

“And during that period, I really listened. I listened to public discourse, I heard the criticism against the then Central Bank, so when I got back in there, it sort of told me what to do,” he stated.

The Governor said the Bank of Ghana now places greater emphasis on listening to concerns and finding practical solutions.

He cited a recent case involving young Ghanaian content creators and social media influencers who were experiencing challenges receiving income from digital platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

“I kept seeing on social media that the Central Bank was being criticised,” he said.

“So we called them in, very young, about 12, 13 of them, and we sat down to try and understand the problem.”

“In the end, we were able to identify [the solution].”

He said the intervention helped resolve the challenge, allowing the affected individuals to receive their earnings without difficulty.