The Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GSSA) has welcomed the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) intentions to relocate its headquarters, citing earthquake concerns to justify the new $250 million building by the central bank.

According to the authority, the current location of the central bank is earthquake-prone, and the most recent earthquake in the country occurred near the Bank of Ghana enclave.

Isaac Mwinbelle, Acting Director-General of the Geological Survey Authority (GSSA), explained the relocation of the Bank of Ghana facility in an interview with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.

“The latest one [earthquake], which was the 10th of March this year, if you look at the epicentre, it was close to Jamestown, meaning that it’s moving towards the current location of the Bank of Ghana.”

“There are fault zones in these areas, but they have not produced any substantial earth tremor, but it doesn’t mean that there cannot be an earth tremor along those fault lines. For that matter, if the Bank of Ghana is being proactive by doing an assessment to find out whether the current location is suitable for a Central Bank or not, I think it is a plus for them because they must ensure the safety of the bank, the safety of the staff, as well as the safety of whatever is contained in there”, Mr Mwinbelle said.

The Bank of Ghana has justified the construction of a new headquarters by arguing that its current facility, erected in the 1960s by the Nkrumah Government, is no longer fit for purpose.

This followed charges by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the BoG plans to build a new headquarters for $250 million.

“Perhaps the more troubling fact is that, having brought the Bank of Ghana to this terrible financial state, the Governor and his deputies, have found it prudent and expedient to invest $250 million (GHC2.8 billion) on another Head Office building somewhere at Ridge. In our circumstances, this is the height of insensitivity in the management of the finances of a troubled country,” Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson said while addressing journalists under the NDC’s Moment of Truth series on Tuesday, August 8, 2023.

The management of the BoG brushed off the accusations.

According to the central bank,  a structural integrity evaluation of the current headquarters showed that the structure lacked sufficient extra strength to be deemed safe for operation.

The BoG further said that the building might suffer serious consequences in the worst-case scenario involving gravity and wind stress, such as abnormally strong winds.

The GSSA boss, who thinks the new location chosen for the new Bank of Ghana office is a suitable one, has welcomed this clarification from the BoG.

“So, if you look at the earthquake that have occurred, they have always occurred off the coastline that is into the sea and by approximation, Ridge is much further away from the coastline which is from the offshore than the current location, which is the High Street area. So, in terms of lateral displacement, the current location, Ridge location might be much safer when it comes to earth tremors, because the closer the structure to the epicentre, the more the devastating that it will cause as compared to when it’s further away from the epicentre, we may likely experience much lower devastation on the structure.”

The new location, Mr. Mwinbelle said, is considerably safer, and immediate action is required to prevent any potential destruction.

“So now that is why before you even construct a building, if you look at the GGSA Act, it mandates us to conduct site or ground investigation to determine whether this area that you are going to construct your structure on has these active fault lines or have fault lines which can affect the structural integrity of the building, and for that matter, for the old structure that was there.

“I am unable to tell whether such ground investigation or site investigation was properly conducted prior to the construction of that particular building, but for the new site, because of the recent things, all these have been factored in by the risk department of the Bank, and I’m sure if constructed, it might serve as a better purpose, and it will be constructed with reinforcement which should be able to withstand any as tremors or earthquakes that may occur because they would have factored in the ground acceleration and therefore, it should be much more safer,” he noted.