An Economist, Dr Godfred Bonkpin, has said that the sudden appreciation of the Ghana cedi is not real, but only a recovery of it’s lost value.
His comment has to do with the sudden strength of the cedi after it was knocked out by the dollar and other international currencies.
Previously, the dollar was selling and buying at an equivalence of 15 and 16 cedis which weakened the country’s economy.
In a span of two weeks, the cedis has been appreciating against the dollar and it’s currently pegged at a range of 10 cedis.
Commenting on this on Adom FM’s Burning Issues, the economist mentioned debt restructuring and the notion Ghanaians have that the current stage of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would stabilise the economy, are the main factors contributing to the appreciation of the cedi.
However, he fears it may not be able to sustain the dollar. Mr Bonkpin educated that if the government should invent proper domestic fundamentals, it would help sustain the cedi’s strength against the dollar.
“To us it’s good news but I will not say the cedi is appreciation, it is only recovering its lost value. I will say it is the debt exchange and the fear that the IMF would stabilize the economy so many people have sold their dollars, which is a contributing factor,” he said.
“But if there is no domestic fundamentals from the government, the cedi may not sustain itself against the dollar.”
Dr Bonkpin debunked the notion that the IMF will help sustain the cedi, saying “why are they saying IMF would solve the issue? We have gone for IMF numerous times but has it solved the issue, IMF does not deal with value of a country’s currency in any part of the world,” he said.