‘Sika mp3 dede’ – Akufo-Addo explains cedi depreciation

President Akufo-Addo has called on Ghanaians to stop the unfounded speculations about the value of the local currency against other major trading currencies across the globe.

Addressing the nation on Sunday, he said the speculations have contributed to the consistent depreciation in the value of the cedi in recent times.

Cautioning against the act, he said government will deal with all persons who publicise such false pieces of information on the value of the cedi.

“Fellow Ghanaians, as the French would say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpɛ dede. Where there is chaos, where there is noise, where there is unrest, you will not find money. If you talk down your money, it will go down. If you allow some unidentifiable person to talk down your money, it will go down”, he said.

The President added, “The recent turbulence on the financial markets was caused by low inflows of foreign exchange, and was made worse in the last two to three weeks, in particular, by the activities of speculators and the Black Market.

An anonymous two-minute audio message on a WhatsApp platform predicting a so-called haircut on Government bonds sent all of us into banks and forex bureaus to dump our cedis, and, before we knew it, the cedi had depreciated further”.

Akufo-Addo continued: “All of us can play a part in helping to strengthen the cedi by having confidence in the currency and avoiding speculation. Let us keep our cedi as the good store of value it is”.

“To those who make it a habit of publishing falsehoods, which result in panic in the system, I say to them that the relevant state agencies will act against such persons”, he warned.

Over the last couple of weeks, the cedi has been experiencing a sharp depreciation against the US dollar and other major trading currencies across the globe.

This has led to a rise in inflation and a resultant increase in the cost of living.

Touching on the development, the President, apart from his caution against speculations also intimated that government is working around the clock to keep the cedi in a stable shape.

In this regard, he said, actions that have been taken to stabilise the Cedi include “enhanced supervisory action by the Bank of Ghana in the forex bureau markets and the black market to flush out illegal operators, as well as ensuring that those permitted to operate legally abide by the market rules”.

“Already some forex bureaus have had their licenses revoked, and this exercise will continue until complete order is restored in the sector”, he added.

In concluding his address, the President said he will consistently address Ghanaians on measures by government to revive the economy.