BoG calls for responsible economic reporting in the media

At the start of the new year, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has drawn attention to the growing influence of media reportage on market behaviour, warning that how economic developments are framed can either reinforce stability or deepen uncertainty.

This message was given at the heart of a New Year media engagement held at the Bank Square in Accra on January 16, 2026, where the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Zakari Mumuni, addressed editors, senior broadcast journalists and members of the BoG Press Corps.

The engagement formed part of the central bank’s broader effort to explain its recent operations, account for their impact on the markets, and strengthen communication at a time when confidence, expectations and perception have become as important as policy instruments themselves.

Rebuilding trust after economic strain

Dr. Mumuni situated his remarks within the broader economic context of the past few years, recalling a period of intense macroeconomic stress marked by entrenched inflation, weakened confidence and distorted market signals.

For households, price instability made daily living unpredictable, while businesses struggled to plan amid volatile costs and uncertain exchange rates. In such an environment, he noted, expectations became fragile, undermining the effectiveness of even well-designed policy interventions.

Against this backdrop, the BoG actions were not merely technical adjustments but part of a deliberate effort to rebuild trust in the economy.

Central to that effort, he explained, was the Bank’s statutory mandate to ensure price stability, safeguard financial stability and maintain orderly markets—objectives that directly affect the purchasing power of wages, the safety of savings and the ability of firms to make long-term investment decisions.

Why Central Bank Communication Now Matters

Dr. Mumuni traced how the role of central banks has evolved globally, moving away from an era of silence and closed-door decision-making to one where communication has become a core policy tool.

In modern economies, he argued, words shape expectations, expectations influence behaviour, and behaviour ultimately moves markets.

Within this framework, the media occupies a critical position.

Journalists are no longer passive observers of economic events but active transmitters of confidence and sentiment. How the activities of the central bank are reported, explained and contextualised can influence decisions by households, businesses and investors, sometimes with immediate market consequences.

The First Deputy Governor was careful to stress that this was not a call to suppress criticism or scrutiny.

Rather, it was a reminder that is macroeconomics, perception often precedes reality, and that incomplete or sensational reporting can unintentionally amplify anxiety and distort public understanding.

Reporting

Dr. Mumuni pointed to the foreign exchange market as a clear example of how reporting can shape outcomes.

Ghana operates a managed floating exchange rate regime, under which daily movements of the cedi—both appreciations and depreciations—are normal reflections of trading activity.

However, when such movements are reported without context, they can be misinterpreted as signs of crisis.

He explained that fear-driven reactions often follow, with individuals and businesses rushing to protect value, pushing up demand for foreign currency and increasing volatility.

In such cases, market instability is driven not by deteriorating fundamentals but by sentiment reinforced through headlines and commentary.

Conversely, when reporting is measured and grounded in context, calm is reinforced, rational behaviour prevails and markets function more efficiently.

In this sense, Dr. Mumuni observed, media coverage itself becomes a market signal.

Currency Stability 

The First Deputy Governor also sought to demystify the importance of currency stability, describing it as a tangible national gain rather than an abstract macroeconomic achievement.

A stable cedi, he noted, helps moderate import prices, transport costs and the cost of essentials such as food, medicines, rent and school fees.

It allows businesses to price goods with confidence, investors to plan and workers to save without fear of sudden erosion in the value of their earnings.

He highlighted that in 2025, the cedi ended the year significantly stronger, reflecting improved economic fundamentals, disciplined policy implementation and growing confidence in the monetary framework.

This outcome, he stressed, was not a victory for the central bank alone but a collective national benefit.

Dr. Mumuni cited the media’s role during the Cedi@60 campaign as an example of constructive engagement, noting that responsible reporting on currency handling and national ownership of the cedi helped translate policy into public action.

Addressing another area often misunderstood in public discourse, Dr. Mumuni urged journalists to provide proper context when reporting on central bank losses. He explained that during periods of crisis, central banks around the world may incur losses as a consequence of deliberate policy choices made to stabilise economies, rebuild reserves and restore confidence.

Such outcomes, he cautioned, should not be framed as financial recklessness but understood within the broader objective of safeguarding macroeconomic stability.

When this distinction is lost, public trust can be undermined, even when policy outcomes—such as lower inflation, stronger reserves and a more stable currency—are positive.