Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has assured Ghanaians that his government will do everything within their power to arrest the recent depreciation of the cedi.
The president was speaking at the inauguration of the Fujian Sentuo Ceramics Company at Kpone in the Greater Accra Region on Wednesday (February 27, 2019).
He said that he was also unhappy about the depreciation of the cedi.
“I am extremely upset and anxious about it, but I want to assure you that all efforts are being made to arrest the decline and restore the cedi to stability.”
He argued that the arrest of the free fall of the cedi would improve the competitiveness of Ghanaian industry.
“Very soon we will be seeing the results of our policy,” he told the gathering.
The United States (US) dollar is currently selling at between GH¢5.00 and GH¢5.30.
However, some currency dealers are trading the local currency at GH¢5.30 and GH¢5.55 for a dollar.
This has led to importers expressing worry over the depreciation of the cedi against foreign currencies like the US dollar and the pound.
But President Akufo-Addo said that the government is working hard to bring down interest rates, which was crucial to doing business.
“We are working to bring down interest rates so that we increase the ability of businesses to fund their activities, while we are putting in place new arrangements for the Agricultural Development Bank and the National Investment Bank, so that they can be more focused on providing the funds for medium- and long-term investments for industrial development.”
The forex rate has led to many criticising the government but President Akufo-Addo said the economy was doing well and that the future looked good for the country.
He argued that the Monetary Policy Rate of the Bank of Ghana has been reducing for the past years and inflation had also gone down significantly.
“All of these are efforts that we are making to improve the business environment and make it possible for our enterprises in Ghana to be competitive,” he said.
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