Franklin Cudjoe, the Founder and President of IMANI Africa, has expressed significant frustration and disappointment with Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia regarding the government’s inability to curb the swift depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi.
In a statement on his Facebook page, the esteemed policy analyst highlighted the alarming decline of the cedi against major foreign currencies, especially the US dollar, which has reached concerning levels.
Cudjoe’s discontent arises from the fact that Dr. Bawumia, who is recognized as the “economic whiz-kid” of the current administration, had made strong commitments to stabilize the cedi prior to his assumption of office in 2016.
At that time, the cedi was depreciating at a troubling rate of GHS 4 to $1. As the leader of the Economic Management Team, Dr. Bawumia assured the public that his administration would address the underlying issues affecting the currency’s stability.
However, the cedi has since experienced unprecedented declines, with the current exchange rate nearing GHS 17 to $1—a situation that Cudjoe has characterized as a ‘rogue’ free fall.
In his post, Franklin Cudjoe articulated his dissatisfaction.
“The fundamentals are at their weakest, and still no credible response from Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who vowed to halt the cedi’s decline when it was at a troubling $1 = 4 cedis in 2016. Now the cedi has gone rogue—approaching 17 cedis to the dollar. I feel disrespected and let down,” he stated.
With soaring prices for airline tickets, exacerbated by heavy taxes and levies, he pointed out that the situation has become critical for those needing to conduct international transactions or travel abroad.
“I have to travel in a couple of weeks for important life-impacting reasons, and I need to cough up lots of cedis to buy tickets, not to talk about the astronomical taxes and levies on tickets. The same dilemma faces various businesses and individuals. Is it possible I can get credible responses soon?” he asked.