A Banking Consultant Dr. Richmond Atuahene has advised the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to track, trace and capture remittances as a short-term measure to stabilise the cedi.
He urged the BoG to put in place a mechanism to receive all remittances to support the stability of the cedi.
The cedi for the past couple of weeks has come under serious pressure. As of March 2024, the cedi was identified as the third worst-performing currency on the continent, according to Bloomberg’s report.
In the first quarter of 2024, the cedi experienced an average depreciation of approximately 8.8 percent against major trading currencies. In the initial five months of the year, it had depreciated by 17.7 percent.
This development, the business community has lamented is crippling their operations, forcing most of them to fold-up. To this end, the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) organised a national dialogue series to proffer policy recommendations to the government to create a conducive business environment.
Speaking to Joy Business at the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s National Dialogue series, Dr. Atuahene asked the central bank to take urgent steps to address the depreciating cedi.
“Track, trace and capture remittances. We must put in place mechanisms to ensure that all remittances come to the central bank. That can be used to support the stability of the cedi. It is the first short term strategy and what we are saying is that, we should do it as fast as possible”, he said.
He added that, the BoG must treat the depreciation of the local currency with all the urgency it deserves to save businesses from collapsing.
“They should take an urgent step to do it. They know the measures. What we are doing is not good for the currency, why don’t we do the right thing”? He queried.
The GNCCI National dialogue series was on the theme, navigating the rapid depreciation of the cedi, surviving in the midst of the crisis.
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