President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged Ghanaians to stop talking down the cedi.
The President’s comments come on the back of speculations, predicting a haircut on Government bonds.
According to the President, the “so-called prediction,” sent Ghanaians into banks and bureaus to dump their cedis, and then the Cedi depreciated further.
Addressing the nation on the current economic challenges, Sunday, 30 October 2022, President Akufo-Addo said: “As the French would say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, [in Akan,] sika mpɛ dede. Where there is chaos, where there is noise, where there is unrest, you will not find money.
“If you talk down your money, it will go down. If you allow some unidentifiable person to talk down your money, it will go down.”
The President also attributed the recent depreciation of the cedi against major world-trading currencies to low inflows of foreign exchange among other things.
“The recent turbulence on the financial markets was caused by low inflows of foreign exchange, and was made worse in the last two to three weeks, in particular, by the activities of speculators and the Black Market.
“An anonymous two-minute audio message on a WhatsApp platform predicting a so-called haircut on Government bonds sent all of us into banks and forex bureaus to dump our cedis, and, before we knew it, the cedi had depreciated further,” President Akufo-Addo noted.
He called on Ghanaians to join forces to help ensure that the cedi is restored.
“All of us can play a part in helping to strengthen the cedi by having confidence in the currency, and avoiding speculation. Let us keep our cedi as the good store of value it is,” he appealed.
He indicated that persons who publish falsehood in these times of economic crisis, will be dealt with by the appropriate authorities: “To those who make it a habit of publishing falsehoods, which result in panic in the system, I say to them that the relevant state agencies will act against such persons.”
He further indicated that government will not relent until order is restored to the forex market in the country.
“Some steps have been taken to restore order in the forex markets and we are already beginning to see some calm returning. We will not relent until order is completely restored. The following actions have been taken thus far:
“Enhanced supervisory action by the Bank of Ghana in the forex bureau markets and the black market to flush out illegal operators, as well as ensuring that those permitted to operate legally abide by the market rules. Already some forex bureaus have had their licenses revoked, and this exercise will continue until complete order is restored in the sector; Fresh inflows of dollars are providing liquidity to the foreign exchange market, and addressing the pipeline demand,” Mr Akufo-Addo revealed.
The President also assured Ghanaians that no institution or individual will lose the funds in Government’s treasury bill as is being speculated due to the current International Monetrary Fund (IMF) negotiations.
“I also want to assure all Ghanaians that no individual or institutional investor, including pension funds, in Government treasury bills or instruments will lose their money, as a result of our ongoing IMF negotiations.
“There will be no “haircuts”, so I urge all of you to ignore the false rumours, just as, in the banking sector clean-up, Government ensured that the 4.6 million depositors affected by the exercise did not lose their deposits,” he assured.
