Bolgatanga Central Member of Parliament, Isaac Adongo, has lambasted former Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, for attributing the cedi’s recent appreciation to the Akufo-Addo government.
Adongo has questioned the NPP’s 2024 flag bearer on why they failed to maintain a stable cedi-dollar ratio and fuel prices, despite claiming superior foreign currency management.
The lawmaker has attributed the cedi’s current performance to the NDC administration’s formalisation of gold purchases and exports, which he says has boosted forex liquidity.
His comments respond to Dr Bawumia’s claim that the recent appreciation of the Ghana cedi is due to the previous government’s policies, specifically the Gold-for-Oil initiative and the Bank of Ghana’s gold purchase programme.
Dr Bawumia had noted that the Gold-for-Oil policy he introduced, including the Bank of Ghana’s gold purchase programme, is what has given the country significant reserves, culminating in the recent rise of the cedi against the dollar and other major foreign currencies.
However, Adongo, who is also a Board Member of the Bank of Ghana disputes this, attributing the cedi’s rise instead to the current administration’s prudent management of forex liquidity.
“I hear the man who championed the Gold-for-Oil that took a litre of fuel to GHC16 and a dollar to GHC17 now says the cedi’s appreciation against the major trading currencies is because he left the central bank with a lot of gold as decorative ornaments. So who is better manager of foreign currency?
“The one who bought gold to decorate the central Bank with lack of forex liquidity pushing the dollar to GHC17 and a litre of fuel to GHC16 or the one who formalises gold purchases and exports them to generate forex liquidity that appreciates the cedi at GHC12.40 to the dollar and a litre of fuel at GHC13. We wasted 8 years of emptiness,” Adongo asserted.
Dr Bawumia made the comment during his UK ‘Thank You’ tour, specifically at an interaction with the Young Executive Forum (YEF) in London.
He argued that the NDC cannot claim credit for the cedi’s recent stability, citing the timing of the budget’s passage in March and the lack of significant contractor payments as evidence that the NDC’s policies aren’t responsible for the cedi’s gains.
He stated that attributing the cedi’s stability to the NDC was inaccurate.
“If you are to the NDC to point out exactly what policy they have implemented that has resulted in the appreciation of the cedi. They cannot tell you one.
“They only passed their budget in March. They’ve not even issued any contracts or paid for anything. So you cannot ascribe what is happening to the currency to a policy they have implemented,” he stated.
The former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) also noted that the weakening of the US dollar globally, coupled with a slowdown in domestic government spending, could partly explain the cedi’s appreciation.
“If you go to Zambia, for example, the Kwacha has gained a lot of ground also because you have the US dollar declining in value.
“They are not paying Independent Power Producers (IPPs). That’s why the dumsor is so acute. They are not paying contractors. When you are not spending, there is less pressure on your currency,” he stated.
Bawumia further intimated that proper economic management by the current administration would help stabilize the cedi, given the foundation laid by the measures they put in place before leaving office.
“What we have put in place should help us maintain stability in the currency, but we’ll see how they manage it going down the road,” he said.
Ghana’s economy would have collapsed without my Gold-for-Oil policy – Bawumia
