Deputy Minister for Finance, Dr. Stephen Amoah has disclosed that the government has put in place a set of short-term strategies aimed at stabilizing the country’s currency.
The cedi has seen persistent depreciation against the US dollar and major trading currencies in the past few days, triggering agitations among traders and importers in the country.
But Dr Amoah is convinced the Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has formulated some policies targeted at taming the the rate at which the dollar and other currencies are appreciating against the cedi.
While Dr. Amoah did not disclose the specific measures being put in place, he highlighted the critical role of citizen cooperation in reducing imports, which he indicated is essential for the long-term stability of the cedi.
“Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam and the finance team have made plans and arrangements to allocate sufficient sums of money coming into the country to ensure the dollar against the cedi is more stable,” Dr. Amoah said on Onua FM’s Yen Nsempa programme.
He highlighted that it is necessary for Ghanaians to curtail their dependency on imported goods, particularly agricultural products, to strengthen the cedi.
“We need to reduce the number of goods we import into this country. Obviously, import of all agricultural products need to stop,” Dr. Amoah added.
He attributed the weakening of the cedi to the Ghanaian preference for foreign goods, which exacerbates the demand for the US dollar.
“As a country, we face the problem of preference for goods of the same liquidity and risk factors. Everything we need and use, we import, so the demand and supply of this is weakening the cedi.
“This is a problem because that means we will demand more of the dollar,” Dr. Amoah explained.
He warned that this “nonstop cycle” leaves the cedi with “no fighting chance.”
Source: Myxyzonline.com
