Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has labeled the 6.8% depreciation of the cedi recorded against the dollar so far as an indication of the great performance of the currency.
The latest economic data by the Bank of Ghana revealed the cedi as of 20th March 2024 recorded a depreciation of 6.8% against the dollar.
Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Ernest Addison at the conclusion of the 117th monetary policy meeting had attributed the recent rapid depreciation to external pressures.
“The foreign exchange market came under some seasonal pressures in February and early March 2024, but the Ghana cedi continues to recover its value.
“The pressures emanated mainly from the strengthening of the US dollar in international markets, and payments made for the energy and corporate sectors. These were compounded by delays and uncertainties associated with the second tranche of the cocoa loan inflow and World Bank’s disbursement of Budget Support,” Dr. Addison added.
But addressing the press on the economy, the Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam says the depreciation rate is evidence of a sustained stability of the cedi.
“The cedi has been largely stabilized since early 2023 against the major trading currencies even though we are seeing some pressures in recent times. The cedi for example cumulatively depreciated against the US dollar by 27.8% at the end of December 2023 and this was down from the depreciating rate of 30% at the end of December 2022,“ he said.
“However, if you isolate February to December 2023, we saw a more dramatic performance as the cedi depreciated by 9.1%. This is important because same time in 2022 the cedi depreciated by 29.8%”, Dr. Amin Adam added.
Dr. Amin further declared the cedi’s performance as remarkable.
“The good thing is that the stability has continued into this year with a cumulative depreciation of 6.8%. If you compare that with the same period in 2023 there was a depreciation of 22.1%. This also shows the great performance of our currency.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Amin Adam adds inflows from international partners to the tune of $1.2bn is expected to stabilize the depreciating cedi in addition to the continued inflows from remittances and mining companies, and from the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme which the BoG asserts has minimized the foreign exchange pressures.
“To further stabilize the currency, we are expecting a total disbursement of 1.2 billion dollars from our development partners namely the IMF, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank. And these we expect to be disbursed before the end of this year,” he told journalists.
Dr. Amin Adam is also pleading with parliament to approve a 150 million dollar World Bank facility which will support the government’s growth interventions and further strengthen the currency.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Edem Kojo
