Finance Minister Blames Minority For Cedi Depreciation

Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has apportioned blame on the Minority in Parliament for heavy depreciation of the Cedi.

The Ghana cedi has, in 2022, depreciated by about 14.6% to the US dollar, according to data by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

According to the BoG’s March 2022 Summary of Economic and Financial Data, the local currency lost 0.3% and 9% in value to the US currency in January 2022 and February 2022 respectively.

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Briefing the media on the economy, the Finance Minister recounted some factors that have badly impacted the economy and one of which he said is the opposition by the Minority against the government’s 2022 budget, with particular reference to the e-levy.

The Minister expounded that, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has been looking at ways to revitalize the economy, hence designing the 2022 budget with the tools to restore Ghana and put the country in better shape.

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But, to him, the government’s inability to implement the budget due to the opposition by the Minority has potentially eroded the investors’ confidence and subsequently resulted in the cedi depreciation.

” Three things that we could not and did not predict hit us. That one that Parliament will approve government’s 2022 budget statement, the appropriation, and its expenditure plans and then turn around to vote against one of the key revenue generation measures that were being introduced, the e-levy. That the unyielding stance of the Minority in Parliament against the e-levy will gravely affect investor confidence in our capacity to implement our programmes and settle our debts, triggering a downgrading by credit rating agencies and now leaving the cedi vulnerable as we could not assess the international capital market.

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“Ladies and gentlemen, the third hit was the launch of the attack on Ukraine by Russia on February 24th, 2022. The war in Ukraine could not have come at a worst time for the global economy. Already, global efforts towards economy recovery from the devastation wreaked by the Coronavirus pandemic were being disturbed by supply chain disruptions,” he said.