The rapid depreciation of the Cedi, according to Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, is largely due to financial decisions made by the government.

The Cedi’s free fall against the US dollar, which as of this Thursday morning [May 16] was trading at GH¢15 to $1, has alarmed the business community and trade unions.

During a press conference on Wednesday, May 15, the Minority Caucus revealed that the government had paid contractors GH¢7 billion that was not included in the 2024 budget. They claim that this money was used to buy dollars, which further weakened the value of the Cedi.

The Minority Leader claimed that since July 2022, the depreciation of the Cedi has increased by more than 70 percent due to the actions of the government in an interview with Citi FM’s Bernard Avle, host of the Citi Breakfast Show.

“Since 2022, the Cedi has depreciated more than 70% and the current problem is primarily a result of how the government is 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.”

“The Ministry of Finance is approving these payments, and the contractors are using it to buy dollars and it is easy to track this. Unless you are not watching the fiscal space, you will see that these monies are 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.