Isaac Adongo, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, has said his advice to businessmen to disregard the Finance Minister’s dollar appreciation comments was to guide them against the detriment of their businesses.
The lawmaker says the lies and falsehood the Finance Minister sought to propagate was not going to solve the problem of depreciation, the reason he asked the public to disregard him.
The Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, on Saturday, June 22, 2024, told attendees of a forum in London that the cedi was going to bounce back stronger the following Monday, June 24.
This was after the government had officially completed its debt restructuring, adding that a whooping US$4billion was going to be pumped into the economy.
But in his reaction, the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee noted that there was no money coming from anywhere, asking businessmen to disregard the advice and go ahead to purchase the dollar for their businesses.
This, is what the Finance Minister described as inciting the public with negative sentiments against the cedi, causing further depreciation.
At a press conference on Monday, July 01, 2024, the Minister who also serves as the Karaga Member of Parliament, described his colleague and friend’s actions as inappropriate.
But reacting to the accusations, Isaac Adongo said the cedi will never appreciate on the lies and speculation being told by the Finance Minister.
“…and if I go and tell the people that don’t listen to the Finance Minister because no US$4billion is coming in and they have not told you who is bring that US$4billion and to the best of my knowledge, we owe US$4billion in arrears of debt service which has been forgiven. How does that amount to US$4billion which is coming into the economy?
“Telling them that that positive signal will be to their detriment because the cedi will not stabilise on account of falsehood and lies. Where are we now after one week? After one week the exchange rate is 5.7 so if somebody failed to buy at 5.4, 5.5, today he is going to buy at 5.7, will the minister give him the difference to pay?
“So, I was advising the businessman to be realistic and use your own instincts and guard yourselves against suffering the detriment of listening to the Finance Minister whose main objective was to throw dust into your eyes,” he explained on Ghana Tonight Monday, July 01, 2024.
Cedi depreciation is a ritual problem – Deputy Finance Minister
