abdul - nashiru issahaku : effectively communicating economic and financial developments in ghana during 2016 remarks by dr abdul - nashiru issahaku, governor of the bank of ghana, at a press soiree, held at the bank of ghana to commemorate the end of the year, accra, 28 december 2016. * * * good afternoon. 1. on behalf of the board of directors and management, l would like to express our profound gratitude to you members of the press for the collaboration we have had during the year. as effective communication is necessary to ensure that the monetary policy transmission is not unduly impaired, we are very grateful for your support. 2. as you are aware, the inflation targeting framework involves expectation management to ensure that inflation is anchored. hence, the effectiveness of monetary policy has become more and more dependent on steering expectations of future interest rate policy. and no other policy tool plays this role better than effectively communicating the policy decision and the considerable efforts made in arriving at that decision. it is for this reason that we try to be clear and open about our actions and operations. 3. on the policy front, our efforts at sustaining macroeconomic stability continue to yield dividends. thanks to continued fiscal restraint and the tight monetary policy stance, we have been largely able to anchor 2 inflation expectations while the economy is becoming more resilient to external shocks. 4. as you are aware, the ghana cedi has remained broadly stable during the year and we are optimistic that the cumulative depreciation for the year will remain in the single digits. this stability in the ghana cedi has reduced the pass - through to domestic inflation, although inflation is still above target. we therefore need to sustain the macroeconomic stability to anchor expectations and to build shock absorbers in the face of continued volatility in the global economic and financial environments. 5. let me mention the establishment of our new communications department, which has assumed such a strategic role in our communication functions. as a department within the bank, the goal is to proactively support the mandate of the bank in ensuring price stability and ultimately contributing to economic growth. therefore, the work of the department is to promote monetary policy communication as well as economic development communication. i want to urge you to continue to work with them in seeking feedbacks on the various aspects of our operations. 6. in an effort to further promote effective public accountability, we have just introduced a 24 - hour contact centre. this offers the general

) promote a safe and efficient payment system and ( 3 ) be responsible for the supply of banknotes and coins. the core activity that the riksbank is responsible for is stated and regulated in the riksbank act. a new act came into force on 1 january 1999 and was occasioned by the demands made on the conduct of monetary policy according to the so - called maastricht treaty. the riksbank in a democracy when sweden became a member of the european union and the government signed the so - called maastricht treaty, this entailed, among other things, acceptance of the requirement that the riksbank was to have an independent position in relation to the government and the riksdag. however, many regarded it as a controversial demand, not least in the swedish trade union movement and within social democracy. it is hardly surprising that there were strong reactions in many places as an independent central bank is a quite new and unfamiliar element in swedish public administration. it meant that the conduct of monetary policy should be delegated to an authority that was only restricted by legislation. this procedure can be most closely compared with the independent interpretation of laws by the courts. however, on closer inspection of the content of the new law and the practice established since then, it can probably be said that the reactions and concerns were exaggerated. mention is often made in general discussion of, for instance, “ the independence of the riksbank ”, which may call to mind an organisation that can carry out its policy wholly without control and parliamentary supervision. in fact, in my view, what is involved is rather more a sensible arrangement, where the objective of monetary policy, stable prices, has been established by law. in addition, the act states that the riksbank, without prejudice to the objective of price stability, shall support general economic policy with a view to achieving sustainable growth and high employment. furthermore, when the new act was passed, responsibility for general issues relating to foreign exchange policy was transferred from the riksbank to the government it is thus the government that is to decide on the krona ’ s relationship to other currencies. this means, for instance, that it is the government that shall decide whether and when sweden shall apply for participation in the european exchange rate mechanism, erm2. however, the riksbank is responsible for setting the exchange rate at which the linkage shall be made in this case and the width of the band in which the krona