In 2014 when the cedi was largely considered as absolutely inferior to the dollar, Head Pastor of the International Central Gospel Church, Mensa Otabil wished it would go back to when it was valued at GH¢0.92 to $1.

He indicated that was the state of the Cedi in 2007 when the former president John Agyekum Kufuor’s administration opted to redenominate the Ghanaian Cedi.

Dr Otabil made this comment at a time when the cedi was valued around GHC4 to $1.

Speaking at his annual ‘Greater Works Conference’ in Accra, he is quoted to have said “…Each one of us must have hope…in a hopeless situation...so tomorrow morning if the Cedi devalues by 50 percent, how many of you will still have hope?” he asked.

“So, if the Cedi – now I hear is $1 to Ghc4, is it? Close to, around or whatever. I’m not the finance minister. I wish that it will go back to 92 pesewas to $1 – but what if it gets to 6, what if it gets to 7, what if it gets to 8?” he wondered.

Read the full story originally published on August 17, 2014, on Ghanaweb

Head Pastor of the International Central Gospel Church, Mensa Otabil has wished for Ghana’s Cedi to return to Gh 0.92 to $1 as it used to be during former President John Kufuor’s administration.

He indicated that was the state of the Cedi in 2007 when the former president’s administration opted to redenominate the Ghanaian Cedi.

The renowned pastor recently attributed the country’s leadership style coupled with the economic crisis to the sunken RMS Titanic of 1912. Dr. Otabil also called for a “new leadership response."

He expressed the wish to an audience of his annual ‘Greater Works Conference’ in Ghana’s national capital, Accra.

Coaching the congregation about “Receiving the promises through Faith," Otabil, intermittently, cited Ghana’s depreciating Cedi and the current prevailing economic conditions, as an example, to tutor his audience about how Christians could lean on their faith in God to help them breach all physical circumstances, no matter how difficult and impossible they may seem.

“…Each one of us must have hope…in a hopeless situation...so tomorrow morning if the Cedi devalues by 50 percent, how many of you will still have hope?” he asked.

“So if the Cedi – now I hear is $1 to Ghc4, is it? Close to, around or whatever. I’m not the finance minister. I wish that it will go back to 92 pesewas to $1 – but what if it gets to 6, what if it gets to 7, what if it gets to 8?” he wondered.

“That’s what faith is; faith says contrary to hope, as the situation gets more hopeless, faith creates hope because faith is working with the circumstance, faith is looking at the circumstance, faith observes the circumstance and sees the hopelessness but faith does not believe in the hopelessness, faith believes in the hope, so when it gets hopeless, we still have hope," Otabil taught his followers.

“Do I acknowledge that the Cedi in Ghana has devalued? Yes! I don’t control them, so can it get worse? It can. Do I want it to get worse? No! But can it? Yes, based on past records! Has your money in the bank devalued? Yes!”

He nonetheless urged the audience at the Greater Works conference to lean on their faith in God and see hope in hopelessness even when they are surrounded by nothing but difficult circumstances.

‘Greater Works’ is one of ICGC’s major annual conferences. According to the Church’s website, “For over a decade, it has grown to become a platform for a major spiritual and mental re-orientation for our generation."

This year’s Greater Works Conference was held from Monday, 28th July to Friday, 1st August 2014 at Christ Temple, Abossey Okai.

The preacher man has come under an avalanche of attacks from some government communicators after his Thursday comments that Ghana was a sinking ship.