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0 Samson Asaki Awingobit, the Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG), has called for the removal of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BOG), Dr. Ernest Addison, for supervising the rapid depreciation of the cedi.
He said that President Nana Akufo-Addo has delayed sacking the central bank governor, emphasising the hardships businesses are facing due to the cedi’s poor performance against major trading currencies such as the US dollar.
According to the central bank data, the cedi is selling at GHS14.13 to a US dollar as of Monday, June 3. However, the rate is expected to be higher at the various forex bureaus in the country.
Mr Awingobit appearing on TV3 New Day on Tuesday, June 4, could not hide his frustration about the cost of doing business in the country and the apparent loss of consumers’ purchasing power.
Also, he accused the Governor of the central bank of not doing enough to clamp down on unauthorised rates at which some middlemen, usually referred to as ‘Alhaji’, sell the dollar at to businesses.
[snapshot] Samson Asaki Awingobit speaking on TV3 New Day“We are tired with the noise in the media. We want this money to stay within your vault. Let anybody who will do genuine business come to change [at] prevailing rate. Not he will bring the money to a bank and the same bank manager will call you and say go to Alhaji. I won’t go to Alhaji and Alhaji is now selling at GHS16 point something to me.
“The banks are giving it to Alhaji and the Bank of Ghan is benefiting. The governor is benefiting; he is benefiting,” Mr Awingobit emphasised.
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Moreover, he questioned the capacity of the ‘Alhajis’ to have millions of dollars to sell to businesses since the laws prohibit an individual from withdrawing more than US$10,000.
“…where did Alhaji get those hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars that business people go there and get…so who regulates them? Is the Bank of Ghana,” he noted.
“My beef this morning with the Bank of Ghana is that I am calling for his head. He should be dismissed. The President had kept long from dismissing the governor of Bank of Ghana…because not putting much forex to the inter-bank and even if you put forex into the inter-banks, you have failed in supervisory,” he stated.
Alan says he’ll revive depreciating cedi
Meanwhile, the Founder and Leader of Movement for Change, Alan Kyerematen, has attributed the depreciation of the cedi to “systemic failures” and a lack of confidence in the Ghanaian economy.
According to the former Trades Minister, the local currency may continue to depreciate against major trading currencies unless Ghana increases its exports and cuts imports.
He said that between himself, former President John Dramani Mahama, and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, he is the best candidate to revive the local currency.
Also, Mr Kyerematen emphasised his ability to implement effective policies that would strengthen the cedi.
He called for urgent interventions to tackle the root causes of the cedi’s depreciation, emphasising the critical need for increased exports and implementing stricter oversight on foreign exchange operations as pivotal measures to revive the economy.
The post Cedi depreciation: Akufo-Addo has delayed dismissing Bank of Ghana governor – Samson Awingobit first appeared on 3News.
