Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, Isaac Adongo, has insisted that the depreciation of the Cedi is the failure of the government and not any speculation on the currency as the Finance Minister is accusing him of.
He says it is the lies and the false hope that the minister gave to businessmen that made him advise business owners to be employ prudence in carrying out their merchandises.
His comments come on the back of accusations by the Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, criticizing the legislator for allegedly encouraging people to purchase dollars for their business operations.
Dr. Amin Adam accused Mr. Adongo of attempting to undermine the Ghana Cedi and cause 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.
He claimed that Mr Adongo’s comments were intentionally made to incite negative sentiments against the recent appreciation of the local currency.
But speaking on Ghana Tonight with Alfred Ocansey Monday, July 01, 2024, Mr. Adongo indicated that the NPP government should learn to accept blame for their failures than the attempt to accuse everyone else but themselves.
He says he cautioned businessmen not to rely on the Finance Minister’s words to affect their operations. He, however, advised that persons who didn’t need the dollar shouldn’t acquire it since it wasn’t necessary.
“You told businessmen that they should watch the cedi by the next Monday so you expected the businessmen to rely on those comments to his detriment and I told the businessmen, that I do not want people to buy dollars if they don’t need them. But if you are a businessman who needs dollars to do your business, by all means go and buy them, and not rely on the comments of the Finance Minister to fool you to your detriment.
“If that is speculation, they held a whole lecture to incite the public, people will not even move to precaution, let alone move to speculation. So, it is your own failure,” he indicated.
The Bolgatanga Central legislator went on to say that if businessmen are able to acquire the dollar on the market, nobody would be speculating about it to affect the cedi.
“If people go on the market and get dollars to do their business, nobody will speculate on the dollar. But in any case, the NPP’s philosophy of managing this country is to blame everybody but themselves,” he stated.
He was explicit that the Finance Minister’s claim of some US$4billion coming into the economy were all lies.
“…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?” he quizzed.
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