Finance Chief lists measures being implemented to deal with Cedi depreciation
Finance Minister Dr Mohammed Amin Adam has noted that despite recent pressures, the Cedi has shown signs of stabilization.
According to the Finance Minister, the year-to-date depreciation of the cedi against the US dollar stands at 18.4%, an improvement compared to the 22% depreciation recorded during the same period in 2023.
During a joint press briefing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) on July 1, 2024, the Finance Minister outlined several key measures being implemented to combat the cedi’s depreciation.
According to Dr Amin Adam, the measures being implemented by the Government to deal with the depreciation of the Cedi include;
- tight monetary policy by the BoG;
- deepening the ongoing fiscal consolidation programme;
- intensifying the gold-for-oil programme and the BoG’s gold-for-reserves programme; and
- anticipated Forex inflows from disbursements from our multilateral and bilateral institutions as well as private sector financial institutions. These include the IMF 3rd Tranche of US$360 million which will be disbursed to Ghana by close of business today Monday 1st July 2024, following the IMF Executive Board approval of the 2nd Review last Friday;
- the IMF 4th Tranche of US$360 million expected in Q4 of 2024 after IMF Executive Board approves the 3rd Review;
- the World Bank DP02 tranche of US$300 million expected in Q3 of 2024;
- and disbursements from bilateral institutions/financial institutions including the World Bank GARID Project (US$150 million), EBID facility of US$200 million for SME support, and anticipated proceeds from 2024/2025 Cocobod syndication of up to US$1.5 billion in Q4 of 2024.
Speaking further, the Finance Minister noted that Ghana’s Gross International Reserves (GIR) is improving, and the country’s external balances continue to improve. He noted that the country’s GIR improved to cover 3 months of import in April 2024, up from 2.7 months in Dec 2023.
Adding that, Ghana’s fiscal consolidation programme is progressing smoothly as Ghana’s primary fiscal balance improved by over 4 percentage points of GDP in 2023
“We are committed to further improving the primary balance to a surplus of 0.5% of GDP this year and 1.5% of GDP in the 2025-2028 period. The fiscal efforts are supported by reforms to enhance revenue mobilisation and streamline and streamline nonpriority expenditures, whilst expanding social protection programmes to mitigate the impact of fiscal adjustment on the poor,” he added.
