The Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, claims the government’s financial decisions are significantly accelerating the Cedi’s rapid depreciation.
Business communities and trade unions have expressed concerns about the Cedi’s free fall against the US dollar, which was trading at GH¢15 to $1 as of Thursday, May 16.
At a press conference on Wednesday, May 15, the Minority Caucus revealed that the government paid contractors GH¢7 billion outside the 2024 budget. This money, they say, has been used to purchase dollars, further weakening the Cedi.
Speaking in an interview, Dr. Forson said the Cedi has depreciated by more than 70% since July 2022 due to government spending.
“In the last month, the government has borrowed over GH¢7 billion from the T-bill market and used this money to pay contractors who have also purchased dollars hoping that the Cedi will depreciate and so even if you go to the market to buy dollars, you struggle to get it, and this is because people lack confidence in the economy.”
He criticized the Ministry of Finance for approving these payments, noting that the funds are being used to buy dollars.
“My concern is that it is coming at a time when we have defaulted on our external debts, and since we have defaulted on it, one would have thought we should be seeing a lot of forex, but that is not the case,” Dr. Forson added.
