Gov’t inaugurates committee to investigate depreciation of cedi

The Finance Ministry has inaugurated a committee to look into the causes of the depreciation of the cedi and propose solutions to the problem.

The establishment of the committee, named the FX Development Committee, is a fulfilment of a promise made by the ministry last year to constitute a bi-partisan committee to look into the problem and help address it.

The Deputy Finance Minister, Charles Adu Boahen, at the inauguration, stated that the FX Development Committee is not usurping the powers of the central bank.

He said the committee will complement the efforts of the Bank of Ghana in curtailing the usual poor performance of the cedi against other major foreign currencies.

“The formation of this committee is not to infringe on the independence of the central bank in its foreign exchange operations,” he said.

The Deputy Minister explained that the committee will also review the current forex regime, identify the inherent constraints in the system and offer workable alternatives by way of policies and programmes which potentially would reduce FX risks in the economy.

“The committee is also to critically look at the role of automation and digitization as a critical enabler of FX reforms,” he stated.

The cedi last year depreciated by more than 12.7 percent, the worst performance since 2015 when the cedi depreciated by more than 14.6 percent.

The members of the committee are drawn from the Office of the Vice President, Bank of Ghana, Agriculture Ministry, Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Association of Ghana Industries, some universal banks among other key stakeholders.

The committee is chaired by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.