Cedi: Stop inciting speculations – Finance Minister tells Adongo

The Finance Minister and Member of Parliament for Karaga, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam,  has accused the Minority in Parliament of fueling speculations on the Cedi.

He urged the opposition lawmakers to provide constructive criticisms and ideas to the government to complement the ideas that are already being pursued.

His comments come at a time when Bolgatanga Central lawmaker Isaac Adongo dismissed his prediction that the Ghana Cedi will soon regain strength against the US dollar.

Adongo advised businesses that need dollars to ignore the Minister’s assurance and take necessary actions to secure their needs, casting doubts on the likelihood of a quick recovery from the cedi’s recent depreciation.

Speaking to journalists in Parliament Wednesday, June 26, 2024, the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central advised businessmen who need the dollar to go ahead and secure it for their businesses.

The MP, however, advised against persons who don’t need the dollar but purchase it for speculative purposes.

“Please, if you have to run your business and you need dollars, just go ahead and buy them. Don’t be listening to what Mohammed Amin, who said that you should want the dollar the next day.

“We want the dollar several months ago when you got 1.2 billion, and it is rising. Do you get it? Don’t lose out when you need money to run your business. Of course, I discourage people from speculatively buying their dollar when they don’t need it. But if you need it for your business, by all means, go ahead and do it. Don’t listen to him, because it will not happen,” he stated.

But speaking at a joint Ministry of Finance, Bank of Ghana and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) press conference in Accra on Monday July 1, Dr Amin Adam said “The problem with the cedi, can also largely be attributed to speculations. Therefore, while we have been making efforts to influence market sentiments positively. We also know that some other people are inciting speculations.

“We have had intelligence that people are deliberately inciting speculations. But we never got it too real, as we saw only two or three days ago when my good friend and my brother Hon. Adongo went out there urging people to buy dollars to do their business.

“And this was after I indicated at the Town Hall Meeting in London, that with all the policies we’re implementing, with the flows that we’re expecting from external sources, and with the completion of our debt restructuring, with our bilateral official creditors as well as our Eurobond holders. We saw the cedi becoming stronger and stronger, my brother went out there to say people should ignore Amin Adam and go and buy dollars to do their business.”

He added “I think that this is not healthy for our economy, I think that we should all work together, whether we’re the government or the minority. Because we are all stakeholders in this economy. So, we have a duty to our people to ensure that the economy is stronger for the benefit of all.

“My friends on the minority side, I want to appeal to you to stop inciting speculations and to work with us, give us constructive criticisms, and ideas so that we can complement the ideas that we’re already pursuing.”

Source:3news.com