General News of Tuesday, 18 October 2022

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

We have to pray; a dollar will be selling for GH¢50 before Akufo-Addo leaves power – Odike

The founder and leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addai Odike play videoThe founder and leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addai Odike

The founder and leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addai Odike, has urged Ghanaians to seriously start praying for divine intervention with the rapid depreciation of the Ghana Cedi. According to him, the current government seems to have no clue as to how to stabilise the cedi against the major currencies, including the US dollar, and without God's intervention, one might need GH¢50 in order to acquire $1 before 2025. He added that the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who, as the head of Ghana's Economic Management Team, is supposed to outline measures to get the country out of the current situation, has suddenly gone quiet. "During the time of Atta-Mills, the dollar to cedi rate was relatively better. During the time of Mahama, it depreciated, but now the depreciation is worse. "We have to pray because if care is not taken, the dollar will be falling at GH¢50 before Akufo-Addo leaves power. "We need someone who will come and tell us that these are the measures we are implementing to stop the cedi from depreciating. Because this can't continue. Is the vice president still alive," he said in Twi in a Power FM interview monitored by Ghanaweb. Meanwhile, the Ghana cedi is currently the world's worst-performing currency against the US dollar, Bloomberg reports have indicated. The currency has continually depreciated against the dollar in the last couple of months. This has been attributed to the situation where "wait-and-see investors continued to squeeze foreign capital to the west African country before its deal with the International Monetary Fund." Bloomberg noted that the cedi lost about 45.1% to the US dollar this year to sell at GH¢11.2625 per dollar. This makes the cedi's depreciation the worst among 148 currencies tracked by Bloomberg, overtaking Sri Lanka's rupee, whose depreciation has been 44.7%. Watch the interview below: IB/SEA