Shortage of foreign currency supplies bane of cedi depreciation - John Kwakye

Economist and Senior Research Fellow at  the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Dr John Kwakye, says the cedi lost 99.4 per cent of its value against the US dollar between 1983, when it was first made to float against the US dollar and 2016.

The cedi's depreciation relative to the US dollar was as a result of short supplies of the foreign currency relative to its demand in the country, Dr Kwakye said at the Graphic Business Stanbic Bank Breakfast Meeting in Accra on Tuesday morning.

Making a presentation on the theme; Public Private Sector Dialogue on Stability Growth and Jobs, he said the instability in the currency market was one of the challenges causing instability in the economy.

Last year, the cedi lost about 10 per cent of its value to the US dollar.

Although there has been an improvement over the 2015 and 2016 depreciation rates of 15 per cent and 30 per cent respectively, Dr Kwakye said, currency depreciation, irrespective of the rate, was inimical to economic growth.

As a result, he called for policy directions that help increase foreign exchange inflows to make up for the deficit that currently exists.

Ghana's economy is currently import dependent, with minimal foreign currencies coming in from the export of raw commodities, mainly cocoa, gold and crude oil.

Click here to download Dr John Kwakye's presentation.