Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has averred that the 3.1 per cent cedi depreciation recorded this year, has been the lowest since 1992.
He also posited that the average depreciation rate of the cedi in the last 28 years has reduced to 7.43 per cent.
“We have reduced exchange rate depreciation with Ghana recording the lowest depreciation rate in the last 28 years not withstanding Covid and the fact that it’s an election year since 1992,” he stated at the Nation Building Updates event held on Thursday, November 26, 2020.
“Average cedi depreciation has also declined to 7.43 per cent, the lowest since 1992,” he added.
In addition to the low depreciation of the cedi against the greenback, the Vice President noted that the incumbent government prior to the advent of Covid-19, had reduced inflation rates, doubled economic growth, significantly reduced the nation’s fiscal deficits, lowered interest rates and also improved the country’s external payments position.
Adding that, the incumbent government had rescued the financial sector from a total collapse and cleaned up the mess created in both the financial and energy sectors by the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
“And all these things we have done in just 4 years,” he emphasised.
Further touting that, the strong performance of the economy had gained admiration from the United Nations Commission for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Bloomberg.
“The relatively strong performance of the economy, has resulted in being identified by UNCTAD as the best destination choice of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in its 2019 report.
Blomberg two days ago, also reported that Ghana is one of the countries that lowered interest rates to combat the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and that our economy has done better than forecasted,” he asserted.
According to the Vice President, the economic feats achieved by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government would not have been possible had it not quickly stabilized and built a strong economy in the first 3 years of being in office.
Dr Bawumia speaking further noted, government from the onset, envisioned creating a foundation of an inclusive and prosperous Ghana beyond aid anchored on 7 objectives.
The objectives as he outlined, include; stabilizing and growing the economy, transforming the economy, creating jobs, modernizing and digitising the economy to fight corruption, creating a secure and safe environment for businesses to thrive and lastly to create inclusive development for Ghanaians.
The year-to-date (YTD) cedi depreciation against the American dollar is 3.1 per cent.
The depreciation rate compared to same period last year – November 2019 – was 12.8 per cent.
The cedi’s performance against the dollar this year, some analysts have argued, is as a result of the Central Bank’s intervention in the forex market with its weekly forward and spot auctions, coupled with a strong foreign reserve position and diversified exports.
Other analysts have also argued that the Covid-19 pandemic has aided the cedi’s performance, a popular view the Central Bank’s Governor, Dr Ernest Addison, admitted to.
Historical performance of the Cedi against the dollar since 2015
2019 12.9% depreciation
2018 8.4% depreciation
2017 4.9% depreciation
2016 9.6% depreciation
2015 18.75% depreciation
