Right fiscal & monetary policies, regulatory and legal enforcements will stabilise Cedi – John Kwakye

Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Dr John Kwakye has said prudent measures will be required to stabilise the Cedi.

He states that the central bank cannot just wish away cedi appreciation without working for it.

It requires the right fiscal and monetary policies, regulatory and legal enforcements, and structural reforms to stabilize the exchange rate on a lasting basis, he said.

“The cedi has already been damaged beyond repair. And that’s very sad. Dollar inflows have been constrained by lack of access to international capital markets, limited cocoa syndicated loan and slow disbursements by the IMF and other donors,”: he wrote on X.

His comments come at a time when the Bank of Ghana (BoG) affirmed that it was increasing its reserves to prevent the cedi’s depreciation against major foreign currencies as demand for forex is expected to rise during the upcoming festive season.

The apex bank believes the action is aimed at reassuring businesses and consumers by guiding the local currency towards greater stability in light of current pressures.

Currently, the cedi is trading at around GH¢17 to a dollar on the forex market, representing a year-to-date depreciation of 24.3 percent.

Governor of the of Central Bank, Dr. Ernest Addison emphasised that boosting reserves is crucial in managing fluctuations in the cedi’s value and protecting economic stability.

“Some are praying that the cedi will recover to GH¢10.00 to a dollar. These are the problems in our economy, the issues about the exchange rate and financial sector issues. But I think the good news is that we are making progress because the developments we are seeing are not different from other jurisdictions.

“So, we need to stay focused and implement the appropriate policies and build buffers to be able to support the progress we have made,”

Dr Addison said this when he delivered remarks at the launch of a book titled ‘The Concise Law of Banking,’ authored by private legal practitioner Afua Appiah-Adu.

He stressed that this approach will not only strengthen the local currency but also enhance investor confidence and broadly support economic stability.

“We have $7 billion dollars in foreign exchange reserves. If I want to drive the dollar-cedi rate at GH¢10, I can do that tomorrow. But what about the day after tomorrow? So, we are balancing various factors, trying to build reserves and managing the exchange rate. So, all is not lost yet, there is some silver lining in the cloud, hopefully we will see the appreciation of the currency”, Governor Addison added.

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