His remarks come after President John Dramani Mahama’s call for African nations to become more self-reliant following the withdrawal of funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Germany on Friday, February 14, President Mahama highlighted the need for African countries to reduce their dependency on foreign aid.

In response, Dr. Atuahene, speaking on Adom FM’s Burning Issues, argued that self-reliance remains an unattainable goal for Ghana due to the country’s inability to manage its resources effectively.

“It’s not positive at all. Let me tell you something about our gold mining—only 15% of the gold we mine goes to the Bank of Ghana. Are we normal, or are we sick in the head? We are failing to leverage our own resources,” he lamented.

“We should bow down in shame and ask God for forgiveness because we have mismanaged what He has given us,” he added.

Dr. Atuahene also warned that Ghana is set to face severe economic hardships in 2025 due to its growing debt burden.

“This year doesn’t look good; it will be one of the most difficult years in Ghana’s history,” he predicted.

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The Minority in parliament is opposed to the appointment, saying it is not the best corporate decision for a struggling national bank to be headed by a parliamentary candidate who is focused on winning political power.

The new MD, who until his appointment was the Deputy MD of the bank, is the governing New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for Manso Nlwanta in the Ashanti Region.

However, Dr Atuahene explained that once the new MD has met all the criteria set to head a bank, the call for his removal is not justified.

Speaking to JoyNews on Tuesday, May 14, he explained that in 2019, the central bank established a number of criteria that an individual must possess for specific positions.

“The minimum assessment criteria for the Bank of Ghana; the financial integrity of that person, the reputation, academic or professional qualification, experience, it goes on to talk about conflict and what the young man and whoever is going to do.

“If Bank of Ghana has deemed it fit and let him pass through this seven or eight criteria, I find it very difficult for people arguing because the directives have also been established 2019, that if you want to be a CEO these are the things that you are required to pass through. If you use conflict of interest, it doesn’t exist.

“The man has time commitment because Bank of Ghana would have tested all these things and found that he is capable,” he added.

The Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, is the first to have raised alarm over the appointment questioning why the Bank of Ghana approved him for the role considering that he would be engaged in rigorous campaigning for political office.

But Mr Kodua Fokuo has assured that he was a good manager of his time and can therefore juggle both roles. He stressed that none would conflict with the other.