The appreciation of the Cedi has not happened by chance but through the implementation of deliberate policies by the government, in collaboration with the Bank of Ghana, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said.
Those policies, the President said, include liquidity tightening measures, which have resulted in the offload of forex as a store of value by speculators, improvement of forex inflows from remittances and the mining sector and the government reaching the staff level agreement with the IMF.
All these, according to the President, had combined to bring the Cedi to an improved position but warned that Ghana is not yet out of economic hardship.
The Cedi for some few weeks has rapidly appreciated against the US Dollar and all major currencies, making up for its losses, while prices of petroleum products are reducing at the pumps.
Addressing congregants at the centenary celebrations of the Ga Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana at the Black Star Square on Sunday, President Akufo-Addo said “What seem impossible yesterday, is now becoming possible today.”
In the weeks ahead, the Bank of Ghana, according to the President, would continue with the purchase of forex from the mining and oil sectors to enhance liquidity supply to the market.
The President said the Bank of Ghana would also continue with the single unified Forex forward unction and the implementation of the gold for oil transaction to significantly remove forex pressures off the Cedi.
Speaking on the theme: “Grateful for our heritage; Forging ahead in unity and faith” the President recalled the difficult times in which Ghana finds itself.
That, he said, was the reason why Ghanaians, particularly Christians, should hold on firmly to their faith and never stop believing in the power and the grace of the Almighty God.
President Akufo-Addo said the past three years (2020, 2021 and 2022) had proven to be very challenging for Ghana’s economy as it had been for all other countries.
He said every country on the globe had suffered varied conditions of economic challenges—confronted with spiralling freight charges and hikes in fuel cost, high food prices and steep inflation spikes.
The depreciation of the Cedi reached a record low and according to President “jurors were out on my government.”
At the height of the Country’s economic challenges, President Akufo-Addo said some doubted the capabilities of the government to return “our nation back onto the path of progress and prosperity.
“In those dark moments, my fellow Ghanaians and members of this congregation, I could only recount the words of St Mathew, Chapter 19 vs 26 which says ‘but Jesus looked at them and said to them, with men, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.”
The President said with the appropriate policies, coupled with determination and hard work, things are beginning to turn around.
He appealed to manufacturers, traders and transport owners who increased the prices of their products and services when the Cedi depreciated, to reduce their prices now that the Cedi is regaining much of its strength.
“My plea is not only a fair request but also a just one” and urge all to join him in this clarion call so that Ghanaians could have a pleasant Christmas.
He called for the support of Ghanaians in the implementation of policies that will restore the country’s economy to the path of growth and assured to bring even further relief to Ghanaians.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
