A scene of the minority addressing the press Wednesday. The Minority in Parliament has asked the government to immediately submit a fresh budget statement to the house, insisting the 2019 budget has been thrown out of gear by the depreciation of the cedis.
Minority spokesperson on Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson said investor confidence in the country’s economy is currently lost because of the falling value of the currency.
He told a media briefing in parliament house Wednesday the loss in value of the cedis is as a result of poor leadership.
Below are hights of the statement to the press.
1. The Ghana Cedi the weakest in Africa: The cedi/dollar exchange rate as at
3:04pm on 19th March 2019 stood at GH¢5.65 per dollar and GH¢5.60 per
dollar at Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited and Ghana Commercial Bank respectively.
2. We are tired of the propaganda ‘IGP’ approach to arresting the Cedi.
3. Government is compounding the woes of Abossey Okai spare parts dealers.
They are forced to pay double to clear their goods.
4. Importers are compelled to pay Special Import Levy and higher import duties
to clear their goods.
5. Importers whose duty payments have shot up astronomically are forced to charge higher prices for their goods and service which has brought untold hardships on the ordinary Ghanaian.6. It has been reported on various media platforms, both locally and internationally, that the cedi/US dollar exchange rate is expected to reach GH¢6 per dollar by the end of the third quarter of 2019.7. In 2016, investors bought the dollar at an interbank rate of 3.9 Cedi per Dollar. Today, these same investors are compelled to buy the dollar at an interbank rate of 5.65 Cedis per Dollar.8. In the last few months, Ghanaians have had to endure severe economic hardships brought on by the misplaced economic policies of the Akufo-Addo government.9. Ghana has become a net oil exporter following the coming on stream of two additional oil fields worked on by the Mahama Administration. What is the Akufo-Addo government doing with huge oil revenue inflows that it cannot manage our exchange rates?10. Indeed, in the last two years, the NPP Government has received the equivalent of GH¢6,825,548,529.61 ($1,474,958,169.38) in foreign exchange as oil revenue but has still not been able to augment its net international reserves beyond end- 2016 levels.11. The depreciation of the cedi can be attributed primarily to portfolio outflows (as foreign investors repatriated coupons […]