Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has announced that Government has outlined some immediate plans to help arrest the free fall of the Ghana cedi.
According to him, Governor of Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Ernest Addison has scheduled a crunch meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, October 25, 2022, with all CEOs of commercial banks and forex bureaus to address the issue.
He announced that “The Bank of Ghana will be meeting the Managing Director of some of the Banks and the heads of the forex bureau association to hold discussions aimed at ensuring that the supply of forex on the market is stabilized and the overpricing is halted so that, those who need forex for business get it without hindrances at the banking halls as against rates on the black market or some other quarters.”
Besides, he further revealed that there is going to be another crunch meeting by the Economic Management Team (EMT) as well as cabinet over the free fall of the cedi and other matters arising from the country’s engagements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“We will also be looking at long-lasting measures to ensure that forex rate is stabilized in the country, even as we expect a lot more inflow of forex following the completion of the syndication of the COCOBOD transaction loan. The Economic Management Team is also meeting to apprise itself on some of the recommendations as we get closer to the end of the year. On Thursday, Cabinet itself will be meeting to receive what has gone through the EMT and updates from the IMF negotiation so that some decisions will be made and then update the country on the next step forward.”
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah expressed optimism the situation will be reversed following the steps government is taking.
The cedi is currently selling at about GH¢14.50 to the dollar; a situation many say is affecting businesses.
It has lost over 50 percent of its value since the beginning of the year.
Bloomberg has also rated the currency as the worst-performing worldwide after considering a basket of 148 currencies around the world.
Government has been working to inject some $2 billion into the Ghanaian economy.
In August, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said the $750 million was expected to hit the accounts of the Bank of Ghana from the Afrexim Bank whilst the cocoa syndicated loan was to add $1.3 billion.
However, the Afrexim injection was like a drop in an ocean, having little impact on the free fall of the Cedi.
By Vincent Kubi