The Managing Director of State Transport Company (STC), Nana Akomeah, has stated that the instability of the local currency has been the greatest challenge facing the Ghanaian economy for a long time.
He stated that the increase in prices of transportation, electricity, water and other goods and services are all due to the failure of the country to keep the currency stable historically.
Nana Akomeah noted that currently, the problem of the fall in the value of the cedi is as a result of the global crisis that is affecting not only Ghana, but most of the countries in the world.
The world economy, he said, has gone through a lot of challenges in the past two years and half of the countries in the world have their currencies failing against the dollar.
“Everything being equal, we haven’t been able to maintain the value of our currency against the dollar way back. Now there is even an external force so, the failure that we have encountered for the last forty years have now been worsened.”
Nana Akomeah
According to him, every government has failed to maintain the value of the cedi and the cedi was a bit stable for only a year or two under the regime of these governments. He indicated that the country has had prescriptions from different sources to help in the stabilization and maintenance of the cedi.
“We have had various kinds of prescriptions. When you look at the Francophone, the CFA France is stable because it is benchmarked to the Euro. Those of us in Anglo-West Africa – Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and so on – we say no, that CFA arrangement where the value of the CAF is benchmarked to the Euro and underrating by France is a colonial arrangement.”
Nana Akomeah
Nana Akomeah said the Francophone countries in this arrangement are very happy and suggested that Ghana should find a way to duplicate their arrangement.
Petrol Prices In Ghana Ranked Amongst The Highest In The World
Honorable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu Constituency, indicated that the hike in prices of petrol in Ghana ranks amongst the highest in the world. He said that individuals should refrain from deceiving Ghanaians that this situation is affecting countries all over the world.
According to his data from Global Petrol Prices.com, Ghana on the average, is doing 6.5 dollars per gallon for gas prices. He compared this price to that of other countries like Togo, Nigeria, Mali and the United States of America and they were relatively lower than that of Ghana’s.
“You will struggle to find any country where diesel and petrol prices are pegged at where ours are, this is the result of the failure to manage the currency. As we speak, according to Bloomberg, the Ghanaian currency is the worst performing currency in the world, not in ECOWAS, not in Africa, in the whole world.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
He noted that the currency of Ukraine, a country which is currently under attack is doing far better than the currency of Ghana, adding that those who must manage the economy, alleviate the crisis and give the people hope have failed at doing these things.
Government knows that it has failed and therefore has no solutions, he said and the current hikes in the prices of fuel has become unbearable, causing private car owners to park their cars.
“Let’s be clear, we are where we are because of failed leadership, we are where we are because the policy interventions since 2017, have all come together and culminated in the current meltdown that we face.”
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa
He explained that the situation where the aforementioned Francophone countries do not have monetary sovereignty is one of pure exploitation.
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