The President Nana Akufo Addo has made a passionate appeal to manufacturers, traders and transport operators who, at the height of the cedi’s recent depreciation, increased prices of goods and services, to reduce their prices now that the cedi is re-gaining much of its strength.

Akufo Addo made this known on Sunday, when he delivered an address at the centenary celebration of the Ga Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, held at the Black Star Square, Accra.

In the President’s address to the the congregation, which included the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, he stated that, with appropriate policy, determination and hard work the part of Government, things are beginning to turn around.

Whilst acknowledging that the country was by no means “out of the woods yet”, he assured that Government will continue to work hard to maintain and sustain the gains made.

“Indeed, in the weeks ahead, the Bank of Ghana will continue with the purchases of forex from the mining and oil sectors to enhance liquidity supply to the market; continue with the single, unified forex forward auction and some modest targeted bilateral support to critical imports; and the implementation of the gold for oil swap transaction, which will significantly remove forex pressures on the cedi,” he said.

According to Akufo-Addo, “the strengthening of the cedi has not happened by chance, but through the implementation of deliberate policies by Government, in collaboration with the Bank of Ghana.”

These measures, he said, include “cedi liquidity tightening measures, resulting in the offloading of forex, as a store of value, by speculators; the improvement of forex flows from remittances and the mining sector; and the reaching of a staff level agreement with the IMF for a US$3 billion package.”