The Ghanaian cedi, appreciated marginally against some major foreign currencies; the dollar, euro and pound sterling last month, with financial analysts predicting that the local currency may perform better or could likely remain stable in the first quarter.
But a leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has dismissed suggestions this is due to prudent economic measures rolled out by the current administration.
Sammy Gyamfi, Communications Officer for the opposition party, insists the cedi is currently doing well because of the outbreak of Coronavirus.
To him, the true state of the economy is what people feel in their pockets and that Ghanaians are really suffering because of the inept economic policies implemented by the Akufo-Addo led NPP government.
The Bank of Ghana, in its latest Summary of Economic and Financial Data noted that the cedi, early this year, appreciated 0.3% against the dollar, and also made a 1.9% gain on the British pound. The local currency also made a 2.3% gain on the Euro.
According to the Central Bank, the cedi's appreciation, was as a result of the setting of the Forex Development (FX) Committee by government through the Finance Ministry to help find stringent ways to stabilize the cedi.
However, commenting on the issue in an interview with Bernard Avle on CitiTV, the NDC Communications Officer pointed out that businesses are not importing goods from China due to the outbreak of Coronavirus which has taken pressure off the cedi, hence the reason why the local currency is doing well on the world market.
“The reason why we are seeing some stability is not because of any economic intervention put in place by this government. 37% of our imports comes from Asia and I’m telling you that there no single economic intervention that is bringing about this stability.
"If we’re not importing and businessmen are not going to China like they use to do, the pressure on the Ghana cedi will go down and you’ll begin to see some stability. You can choose to celebrate that like the government is doing but very soon they will see their smoothness level,” he said.
Renowned world financial news, research and data organization Bloomberg, has rated the Ghanaian Cedi as the best-performing currency in the world against the United States Dollars.
The global financial and economic research experts added that the currency of the world’s second-biggest cocoa producer has strengthened 3.9% in 2020, the most among more than 140 currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
With Ghana concluding a series of meetings with international bond investors for a sale of as much as $3 billion in Eurobonds, Bloomberg quotes financial experts as saying that the Cedi will further strengthen.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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Sometimes when i read things like this, I feel like taking up the call and helping the NDC on economic issues.
During this same period that the Coronavirus has struck Cina and the rest of the world, the Nigerian Naira has remained st US$1=NGN365. This confirms that the appreciation of the GHS has nothing to do with the coronavirus.
There are a host of reasons why the cedi has appreciated against the major currencies but not any magic by the government. We need to be assured of this and it will not last. The bond issued last year in the last quarter or so has now hit the account so a lot of cheap foreign exchange has now hit the account. Check Bloomberg news. The tail end of the IMF assistance is also bringing some benefits which is good for the country. There is some financial assistance from China bringing some relief for the country. Yes the importation from China has reduced due to the reduction of importation from that country which is a fact. For me, this should show us that we can leave without some of the cheap goods flowing into the economy. Still, Ghana remains largely reliant on foreign financing, exposing it to swings in investor sentiment. Maintaining fiscal discipline will however be a challenge, (May 2019, IMF) Now we need to stop spending by heart. This is where our Ministry of Procurement, Auditor General, Finance Ministry, Parliament and the courts sit up to ensure that the leakage stops. A challenging situation is that our revenue targets have not been met for some time so if all these financial assistance we have got over the period which has been put into consumption is decimated which has been the usual way, the cedi will start galloping again. Its simple if the government wants to win the election easily, the president should start to crack the whip. He should look at GRA and the various ports immediately to improve the collections. Mystery shoppers can limit the put them on their toes. The gains over there can be put into paying for social interventions like free education. The missing excavators can be got back and through the right legal processes revalued and sold at market value to put into the consolidated fund. You see, if you leave in Europe and America, you will see how penalties and fees bring a lot of money into the coffers. Just fail to pay your train fare or get to the airport with an overweight laugage. They do not joke with it but we take it for granted. All the gawo people selling foreign exchange should be chased out distabilised afterall they are indulging in illegality. Check all fees got from our embassies abroad as a lot is lost over there. These and more can bring a lot of relief and lesson the pressure on the cedi. These need political will and i do not know how we are going to get round all these leakages.
And this guy is a qualified lawyer and a leading member of the Northern Democratic congress (NDC). Another so called lawyer in the same misguided party a couple of years attributed the cedi's b--a-d performance during the ill fated and 1nc0mpe+ent Mahama's government to the high rise buildings around the airport area in Accra.
I think this guy himself is suffering from both Toyota and Corona virus so I urge Nuguchi Research institute to immediately come for him for quarantine. Why has he refused to talk about the airbus saga?
The cedi is doing fantastic because the NDC is not in charge of the economy. Period!!
When will Sammy Gyamfi make a good analysis? Sometimes I wonder the sort of person he is - either he is ***barred word*** or he is always mischievous. Is Ghana the only country in the world that does business with China? Why is it that it was the name of Ghana that Bloomberg mentioned as having the fastest growing economy in the world? Sammy Gyamfi, no one is listening to you because you do not make a genuine judgement when it comes to issues. Whatever propaganda hat you will spearhead will never bring NDC back to power. NDC is done as a political party and will not come back to power in the next foreseeable future. Time will tell.
SO THIS IS HOW FAR YOU HAVE COME WITH YOUR CHEAP POPULIST PROPAGANDIST POLITICS ABI. NO WONDER U BELONG TO THAT POLITICAL PARTY
SINCERELY I THINK THIS IS HAPPENING BECAUSE OF THE CLOSING OF THE FRAUDULENT BANKS. THE FRAUDULENT BANKS BECAME THE MEANS TO DRAIN GHANA ECONOMY TO DEPOSIT IT IN FOREIGN LANDS. STRINGENT ECONOMIC MEASURES IS HELPING THE CEDI TO APPRECIATE MORE.
And so what? Call a press conference and respond to the Airbus bribery issue by your corrupt flag-bearer.