The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Joseph Kwabena Ade Coker believes Ghana’s inability to export more of its products overseas is the main reason of the free-fall to the cedi in recent times.
According to him, “Physical monitoring indiscipline” which some have attributed to the falling of the cedi is unfortunate.
He noted that “The issue is, as a country, we are importing more than we are exporting and you have physical monitoring indiscipline, you can have Bank of Ghana directives and all those directives but if the fundamental structure of the economy is import and export, balance of payment, balance of trade with other countries, then you have a problem.
“…That is what we should be looking at rather than sitting here and putting blames on others,” he said
The rapid fall of our national currency, (the Cedi) vis-à-vis foreign currencies including the US dollar in the country has become a major concern of many well-meaning Ghanaians.
The US Dollar($) which sold at GH¢2.20 on local foreign exchange market during Christmas, last year, now sells at GH¢2.60. The British Pound which sold at GH¢3.00 now sells at GH¢4.20 whilst the Euro and the CFA also now sell at GH¢3.50 and GH¢4.80 respectively.
According to experts, the macroeconomic problem that had gripped our economy today is due to a multiplicity of factors including low agricultural output, excess liquidity, trade liberalization and exchange rate policy.
Speaking on PEACE FM’s flagship morning show, Kokrokoo, Mr. Coker stressed that, “All these things affects the currency situation in the world. Even almighty China is also facing the same problem. Most of our traders have established themselves so well that between some months, they are given credits by their partners outside to bring goods in the system because we are importing too much”
Adding that, “We have to start setting draconian measures. What we (Ghanaians) can produce here and are imported we should put punitive taxes on them rather than talking about depreciation.”