Mr Anthony Dagadu, an Economist and policy Analyst, has congratulated the Mahama-led government for the cedi’s stability and the exchange rate that has been steady with one dollar selling at around 13 cedis.
He said the stability of the cedi is a welcome development for businesses and individuals alike, while the steady exchange rate had helped reduce uncertainty and promoted economic activity.
Mr Dagadu, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), stated that the current stability of the cedi had had a positive impact on businesses, particularly those involved in international trade, while the stable exchange rate would enable businesses to have better plan and budget for their imports and exports to reduce the risk of losses due to exchange rate fluctuations.
“Government policies have also played a significant role in the stabilisation of the cedi and implementation of sound economic policies has helped to promote economic stability,” he said.
Mr Dagadu explained that the economic benefits of a stable cedi were numerous, which included attraction of foreign investors, promoting economic growth, and reduction of inflation rate.
He said the efforts by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to stabilise the cedi was also a step in the right direction, which needed to be commended and a recognised for better achievement.
He said the stability and the new strength gained by the cedi against other foreign currencies was a significant achievement for the Ghanaian’s economy and urged the BoG to continue the efforts and find stronger methods that could help maintain the stability rate to promote economic development.
He said that the recent reports by Bloomberg, which revealed that the Ghana cedi was currently the best currency in the world after appreciating 16 per cent against the US dollars since the beginning of April had indicated government efforts in turning the economic fortunes of the country.
Mr Dagadu said the cedi’s stability and the strength would take a gradual process to reflect on the price of commodities in markets and urged the public to rally behind Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Finance Minister and the government to achieve better developments to boost the economy.
Mr Dagadu indicated that the cedi in a few months to Christmas festivities last year, experienced some marginal stability due to importation of goods and consumer products and prayed that the state of the cedi continue to affect the price of cement and other relevant items.
He said that since 2012 the cedi continued to fluctuate against major currencies, which created a lot of challenges for the country in the foreign market and the current situation could be born out of the event that government was yet to pay most contractors and investments.
Some business owners the GNA interacted with also expressed appreciation about the cedi’s stability over the last few months and appealed to authorities to strive harder to stabilise the cedi for the progress of businesses.
Others advised the government to invest in agriculture and food production, youth in business and implementation of better economic policies to help sustain the economic growth of the country.
GNA
