ghana association of bankers - 17th annual working luncheon keynote address by dr. ernest addison - governor, bank of ghana 13th september 2019 kempinski hotel, accra mr chairman ; the executive secretary ; members of the general council ; managing directors of banks ; fellows and associates of the ghana association of bankers ; members of the banking fraternity ; distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen ; 1. a very good afternoon to you all and let me extend my warm greetings and welcome you to the 19th annual working luncheon of the ghana association of bankers ( gab ). it is indeed a great pleasure to be invited to address this working luncheon of the ghana association of bankers, bringing together chief executives of banks in ghana. 2. to begin, allow me to highlight the critical role of the banking sector to the national development agenda. the growth experience of the banking industry is necessarily intertwined with that of the economy as a whole. and the industry has necessarily been central to economic policy and structural reforms because a sound and efficient banking system is indispensable for financial stability and indispensable for a healthy and robust economy. 3. mr. chairman, we have gathered here at a time of completion of actions to reform our financial sector and a time when a lot of gains have been made in country ’ s monetary and financial stability, and confidence is being restored. these gains should begin to translate into lower interest rates that ghana pays for issuing debt, as well as lead to further anchoring of inflation expectations at the low and stable levels and financial stability. 4. however, our ability to maintain this confidence depends on the freedom with which the central bank is able to take necessary but unpopular decisions to restore price and financial stability. i would want to say that the bank of ghana has enjoyed considerable political support enabling it to be effective to implement these rather difficult measures to comprehensively reform the banking and specialized deposit taking institutions sectors of the financial system. these have involved, increases in the minimum capital of universal banks, resulting in some cases mergers and acquisitions, to ensure orderly consolidation of the sector. and in some cases involving insolvent institutions without any franchise value, where licenses were revoked. these reforms have rather sadly been misconstrued as being driven by some unseen hands to score political objectives. 5. ladies and gentlemen, i would like to place on record that these difdficult decisions taken by the bank of ghana were based on its technical assessment and judgment of the conditions facing the financial sector.

have replaced typewriters, and electronic libraries are enabling access to a large pool of modern learning and teaching resources beyond the confines of the famed balme library that was once so intimidating for students. 12. under its current administration, the university is making even greater strides pursuing its overall vision of becoming a “ world - class research5 intensive university ”. the vice chancellor ’ s bold and audacious vision to ‘ create a culture that promotes research, teaching and learning, administrative processes and extension activities driven by technology and anchored in humanism ’ have led to the launch of key activities including the ‘ vice - chancellor ’ s programme for enhancing the ug student experience through digitalisation ’. 13. emerging from the ravages of the covid - 19 pandemic, the new emphasis on nurturing resilience : adopting technology, and embracing humanism, is welcome and in the right direction. the pandemic underscored the importance of constant investments into the future to build resilience and strong safety nets in order to reduce inequities and exclusion from our socio - economic development efforts. 14. while technology enabled the adaptations that were necessary to reduce the fallout from the pandemic including the impact on teaching and learning, existing gaps in access to technology introduced disparities in the extent to which some were able to cope with disruptions from the pandemic. for example, students who had no access to electronic devices and / or had no access to cost - effective and reliable internet connectivity to support their online learning were suddenly facing new hurdles in pursuing their educational dreams. 15. there were also gendered dynamics to the impact of the pandemic, such that female lecturers or students were disproportionately saddled with responsibilities for childcare, care of relatives, and housework, with schools closed and labour markets disrupted, while at the same time having to keep up with online teaching and learning. 16. it is against this backdrop that the big push for investments in technology to promote resilience going forward and in a human - centred manner is critical. equitable access to reliable and cost - effective technology will go a long way to promote teaching and learning in a more sustainable manner and ensure than no one is left behind. hence, the recently launched ‘ one student, one laptop ’ ( 1s1l ) programme, where about 120 students have been provided laptops, deserves applause. it is my hope that many corporate bodies and well -