Cedi has started gaining strength – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that the Cedi has started gaining strength against the major trading currencies.

He said this in an interview with the BBC’s Peter Okwoche on Monday, April 4.

The President was touting the economic progress of the oil-producing West African nation but when his attention was drawn to the woes of the local currency, he said “I don’t know the economy in the world that is doing well.

“The Cedi has begun to firm up. The world is going through a difficult [moment], Ghana is no exception, and Nigeria is no exception. There is no country in the world that is escaping the ravages of COVID-19 and also the impact of the [Russia-Ukraine conflict].”

Recently the Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta announced some measures introduced by the government to deal with the issues affecting the economy, especially the Cedi.

Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta announced on Thursday, March 24 that “With immediate effect, the Government has imposed a complete moratorium on the purchase of imported vehicles for the rest of the year. This will affect all new orders, especially 4-wheel drives. We will ensure that the overall effect is to reduce total vehicle purchases by the public sector by at least 50 percent for the period,” he said.

“Again, with immediate effect Government has imposed a moratorium on all foreign travels, except pre-approved critical/statutory travels; Government will conclude ongoing measures to eliminate “ghost” workers from the Government payroll by end of December 2022;

“Discretionary spending is to be further cut by an additional 10%. The Ministry of Finance is currently meeting with MDAs to review their spending plans for the rest of the three (3) quarters to achieve the discretionary expenditure cuts; ii. these times call for very efficient use of energy resources.

“In line with this, there will be a 50% cut in fuel coupon allocations for all political appointees and Heads of government institutions, including SOEs, effective 1st April 2022,” he added.