Prez Akufo-Addo iterates commitment to rein in inflation, cedi depreciation
President Akufo-Addo has reiterated his government’s commitment to deal with the depreciation of the Cedi and rise in inflation rate.
Delivering the keynote address at this year’s Bar Conference of the Ghana Bar Association [GBA] on Monday, September 12, the President averred the two macroeconomic challenges facing the country are a major preoccupation of his government.
“Other steps will be taken, in particular, to deal with the unacceptable depreciation of the cedi. Reining in inflation, by bringing down food prices, is a major preoccupation of the Government, and, hopefully, this season’s emerging, successful harvest will assist us in this regard. Arrangements are being made with market women, the market queens of popular parlance, to provide trucks to evacuate food stuffs from rural markets to urban centres to help reduce food prices in the cities,” the President said.
“We are encouraging companies engaged in the manufacture of inorganic fertilisers to scale-up production to reduce the impact of the high cost and unavailability of fertilisers, whist we advance rapidly our plans to establish an organic fertilizer plant in Ghana,” he added.
In furtherance of this, the President noted that the GH¢100 billion Ghana Cares “Obaatampa” Programme, the programme for post-COVID economic recovery and revitalisation, which is being implemented, anchors bright prospects for the medium-term.
“I continue to have an abiding faith in God to help turn the fortunes of our nation around, especially with appropriate policy, determination and hard work on our part, and I urge all of you gathered here to have that same belief that the fortunes of Ghana under the Presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be restored,” he furthered.
The cedi has weakened more than 39% against the dollar this year and is the second-worst-performing currency in the world, after the Sri Lankan rupee.
The depreciation prompted the central bank to hold an emergency meeting in August, when it raised the key interest rate by 300 basis points to 22%, the biggest margin since at least 2002, bringing cumulative increases since November to 850 basis points.
Ghana’s headline inflation rate continues its upward trend as it recorded an annual rate of 33.9% in August, a 21 year record high.
This is the 15th straight month the country’s headline inflation has risen, it is also the 12th straight month the inflation rate has surpassed the upper limit of the Central Bank’s target band of 10%.
