Ernest Addison: Pandemic, the economy and outlook
Speech by Dr Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, at the University of Ghana Alumni
Lecture, University of Ghana, Accra, 17 December 2020.
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Introduction
1. It is a privilege to join you today to deliver this year's Alumni Lecture. Coming back to this great
institution has brought back fond memories of my days on the Legon Campus over three
decades ago, shuffling between Mensah Sarbah Hall Annex A and the Economics Department. I
sincerely thank the Alumni Association for the kind invitation and to join the list of distinguished
speakers of the University of Ghana Alumni lecture series.
2. Ladies and Gentlemen, when I received the invitation to deliver this year's alumni lecture, the
first thing that came to my mind was the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the
global economy, how that will transmit to the Ghanaian economy and the enormous challenges
to public policy, including macroeconomic management. Since the inception of the pandemic,
policies have been crafted and extraordinary measures imposed to contain its spread and
manage the human, economic and social consequences.
3. This single event, which probably happens once in a lifetime, has caused some fundamental
shifts in the global economy and disrupted social and cultural norms.