A leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has disclosed that although the Ghana cedi may be worth 60% less now than what it was to the US dollar last year, it is not worthless.
Criticising Accra-based media station, TV3, for what he described as the station calling the cedi as worthless, he revealed that it is “not the job of journalists and analysts to fix” the cedi.
Contained in a Facebook post today, October 21, 2022, Mr Otchere-Darko empathised with the many businesses and consumers out there who simply do not know where to turn.
“The cedi may be worth 60% less now than what it was to the US dollar last year. But it is not worthless… There is hope because there is every indication that the new injection of more forex, should reduce the influence of black market operators on rates, giving the local currency a necessary relief from next week.”
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko
Mr Otchere-Darko explained that despite the current depreciation of the cedi, fixing it is not helped if journalists make it more of their job to “fuel speculations”. He highlighted that “reputable analysts” such as JP Morgan, are today describing the cedi in a mixed tone as at least “15% undervalued” and its net risk as “positive”,
Nonetheless, he noted that as the country’s forex market “distorted”, a big Ghanaian media house is busily and loudly describing the cedi as “worthless”.
“Journalists can report and influence. But where the default mode is to influence negatively, such media houses run the risk of becoming partners in speculation.”
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko
The comments by the NPP bigwig comes at a time when the local currency is experiencing acute declines as compared to the US dollar and other major trading currencies.
The situation has subsequently triggered widespread anxiety amongst the public, with many blaming the government for failing to salvage the economy.
Forex Bureau reacts to cedi depreciation
Meanwhile, the Vice President of Forex Beurau Association of Ghana, Dr Alex Akpabli, has called for a shift in the approach to resolving the unpleasant relationship between the Cedi and the Dollar.
He stated that the same old strategies being adopted by the managers of the economy are not working.
“The challenges we are facing today can’t be solved by the same practice, there must be a paradigm shift. We have the parallel market that competes with us, the black market, that is the challenge… If you need Dollar come to us and we can help but if you choose black market which is not safe, then there is a problem.”
Dr Alex Akpabli
Dr Alex Akpabli further said that the activities of the black marketers pose a serious challenge to them.
On the other hand, the President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr Joseph Obeng, indicated that there is a powerful association behind black market operations in Ghana. He explained that these operators mostly receive up to date forex information that sometimes the regulated operators do not even have.
“Who is giving them this information?… There is a cartel which is being built by black market, it is dangerous. Who is giving them the rate, it is a cartel. People are shying away from the main stream banks and doing businesses with the Black markets.”
Dr Joseph Obeng
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