Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who is also the head of the Economic Management team, must demonstrate his credentials as an economist in the management of the local currency, Mr Tetteh Catenor, a former National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary aspirant for the La Dadekotopon constituency, has said.
According to him, Dr Bawumia, who was once a Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, was touted as a doyen in economics and he once boasted that an NPP government will “arrest” the fall of the cedi and thrown the keys away.
However, in Mr Catenor’s view, since the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took over the governance of the country, the cedi has been plummeting against the major trading currencies, especially the dollar, a situation that is negatively affecting businesses in the country.
According to the Bank of Ghana’s Daily Interbank FX Rates, a dollar is equivalent to GHS5 as of Monday, 19 February 2019. In January, it was GHS4.93.
Speaking on the Ghana Yensom show on Accra100.5FM hosted by Kwabena Prah Jnr (The Don) on Tuesday, 19 February, Mr Catenor said: “Wherever Dr Bawumia is, we have to bring him out to arrest the cedi.”
“Dr Bawumia, when in opposition gave a series of public lectures on how to manage the cedi and, so, we all thought that when given the opportunity, he will dramatically strengthen the cedi against the dollar but that is not what we are seeing.
“Businesses are suffering because of the weak currency, yet nothing is being done by the government.”
“This government’s incompetence in managing the local currency is shocking,” he added.
Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com
