The Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited, Alhassan Andani, has appealed to Ghanaians not to talk ill about the local currency.
According to him, such comments erode the confidence in the currency, leading to increased depreciation.
Speaking at the Graphic Business/Stanbic Bank Breakfast Meeting Tuesday, April 23, 2019, Mr Andani said Ghanaians should rather be interested in how they could collectively support the cedi to regain its strength against foreign currency
He added that the value of the cedi at every point in time is a reflection of the choices that the people make, hence the need for everybody to work together to help attain an appreciable value.
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In 2018, the Ghana cedi lost some 8.4 per cent of its value to the US dollar. It came under intense pressure in the first three months of the year, mainly due to increased repatriation of bonds by non-resident bondholders.
The cedi has witnessed some interesting developments over the past two months. In one week, it showed a strong recovery, however, the trend was revised later, resulting in some sustained depreciation.
Meanwhile, The Governor of the Bank of Ghana Dr Ernest Addison has given the firm assurance that the recent challenges that hit the cedi which resulted in sustained blips, are over.
“We expect that the low inflation that we have recorded, together with reduced negative sentiments, would surely help stabilize the cedi strongly”.
The Governor also argued that the BoG now has a stronger reserve position to deal currency blips in the short term, and smoothen out excessive volatilities, adding that “Yes, we saw the cedi move to GH¢5.9 [per dollar], but last time I checked that overshoot and spike had dropped to GH¢5.1. This clearly shows that the local currency is behaving appropriately.”
