Depreciation of the cedi has been lower under Akuffo-Addo led administration- Bawumia

The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has stated that the cedi’s value now shows improvement over the period it was under the National Democratic Congress government.

In an interview with AfricaWatch Magazine, Dr. Bawumia emphasized his stance on stabilizing the value of the cedi and the cedi’s resiliency under President Akufo-Addo’s government.

He established that even though there are still problems with the world economy, the cedi’s devaluation has been handled well, especially in comparison to the previous NDC government.

“Why not? We use averages to measure progress in statistics and economics all the time. It is a valid comparison of the management of the exchange rate under our government versus under the NDC government. The point is that notwithstanding the major global and domestic challenges we have been through, it is remarkable that whereas the exchange-rate depreciation between 2009-2016 averaged 13.9%, between 2017-2023 it averaged 13.1%. That is a fact,” Dr Bawumia stated.

“The data shows that from 2009-2016, the cedi depreciated cumulatively by 71.1%, and between 2017 and 2023, the cumulative depreciation was 64.6%. So, whether you look at the average or the cumulative, the depreciation of the cedi has been lower under our government, notwithstanding the severe global shocks we have endured. That is the basic truth.”

In addition, Dr. Bawumia defended a statement he made during the NPP’s 2016 campaign, restating his belief that, when its foundations are strong, an exchange rate accurately represents the strength of a government.

He linked the current fluctuations of the currency rate to international issues like the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“Absolutely! It is still true, and I will continue to stand by that statement. We saw that between 2017 and 2021 when the fundamentals in terms of the fiscal deficit, inflation, GDP growth, external balances, and international reserves were fairly strong, the exchange rate was relatively stable,” he said.

“But following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the banking-sector crisis, the excess-capacity energy payments, and the lack of access to international capital markets, the fundamentals of the economy were weakened, and the fiscal deficit and debt levels increased.

“Inflation reached some 53% at the end of 2022 and you saw the exchange rate depreciate by some 30% in 2022. The fundamentals have strengthened recently, with the declining fiscal deficit, declining inflation, improved external reserves, and so on, and this has resulted in relative stability of the exchange rate. So, my statement still holds true.”