The 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy has been referred to as a “ka mp dede budget” by the minority leader in parliament, Haruna Iddrisu.
The popular’sika mp dede’ that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo used in his final speech to the nation inspired the Akan expression, which literally translates to ‘debt does not like noise.’
The Minority Leader criticized the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, for excessive borrowing as he stood up to second the motion on the floor of parliament to adjourn the session.
He explained that, with the details of the budget as presented by the minister, and with his own admission that the country is highly-indebted, then the phrase Ɛka mpɛ dede best describes the budget.
“We have heard the honourable Minister of Finance, before this august House, declare Ghana a high-risk, distress debt country. So, Mr. Speaker, this budget is Ɛka mpɛ dede budget and therefore, he’s put the country on the path to debt restructuring, which he has announced as debt exchange program.
“So, Mr. Speaker, this budget is Ɛka mpɛ dede budget because he has announced debt restructuring in the name of a debt exchange program,” he said.
Haruna Iddrisu also appealed to the minister to ensure that he regularizes the government’s borrowing spree.
“Mr. Speaker, my greatest expectation of the minister is to regularize the borrowing under the amended Bank of Ghana act of 2016.
“You have to come back to this House to seek our mandate and authorization for your excessive borrowing from the Bank of Ghana, that needs to be regularized,” he said.
The Vice President stated that the policy is anticipated to go into effect by the end of the first quarter of 2023 and is a part of an effort to address the cedi’s ongoing depreciation in a Facebook post on November 24, 2022.
The program, he said, “would radically alter our balance of payments and greatly lessen the continual devaluation of our currency with its corresponding hikes in fuel, power, water, transit, and food prices.”
“This is because the exchange rate (spot or forward) will no longer directly enter the formula for the determination of fuel or utility prices since all the domestic sellers of fuel will no longer need foreign exchange to import oil products,“ the Vice president said.
“The barter of gold for oil represents a major structural change. My thanks to the Ministers for Lands and Natural Resources, Energy, and Finance, Precious Minerals Marketing Company, and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana for their supportive work on this new policy. We expect this new framework to be fully operational by the end of the first quarter of 2023. God bless our homeland Ghana,” Dr. Bawumia wrote.
The decision will assist strengthen local industry and provide jobs for the nation’s teeming youth, according to Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta, who was speaking to Parliament on Thursday, November 24, 2022, during the introduction of the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy.
He claimed that the government would “extend the Bank of Ghana’s gold purchase program to assist forex reserve accumulation, promote a London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certified gold refinery in Ghana, and promote local currency stability” as part of its economic vision for 2023.
Ghana, the second highest gold producing country in Africa after South Africa is home to major multinational mining companies who mine and export the precious metal to be refined in other countries, a development that leaves the country shortchanged in terms of revenues that the state makes from its mining sector.
With the substantial increment in gold prices on the world market in recent times, the establishment of a refinery for the production of gold in the country will set the country on a better standing as it is better for the country to add value to the precious metal to get real monetary value than to export it in its raw form.
This the Finance Minister said will help the country derive deserving amount from adding value to its gold than what currently accrues to the state from the sale of its raw gold.
He was optimistic that the gold refinery will diversify the country’s mineral economy from a predominantly export-driven to a value addition economy stressing that it will fetch the country enough foreign exchange to cushion the local currency.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0988 and a selling price of 13.1120. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.55 and sold at a rate of 14.95.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.4710 and a selling price of 15.4891 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 15.4710 and a selling price of 15.4891.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 16.70 and sold at a rate of 17.35.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 14.50 and sold at a rate of 15.20.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7578 and a selling price of 0.7585 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 0.7571 and a selling price of 0.7576.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.8479 and a selling price of 33.9082 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 33.8479 and a selling price of 33.9082.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 17.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 21.50.
For the CFA, it is trading at a buying price of 48.4208 and a selling price of 48.4939.
At a forex bureau in Accra, CFA is being bought at a rate of 19.70 CFA for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 23.50 CFA for every 1 Cedi.
The cost of crude oil keeps falling. On Monday, November 21, 2022, the product is exchanged at a price of roughly 87 dollars per barrel on the global market.
After falling by more than $2 a barrel on Friday for a second consecutive weekly reduction, oil prices are still falling.
This is a result of worries about weakened Chinese demand and additional increases in U.S. interest rates.
Brent crude is down by 0.72 percent and is being offered at 86 dollars 99 Cents a barrel having reached its lowest level since September at 85 dollars 80 Cents. Should this decline persist petroleum consumers would heave a sigh of relieve as prices could drop a little further.
The 2023 budget statement and economic policy must include a clear and viable path on climate action, access to affordable and clean energy, and high-quality education because governments around the world are being held more accountable by their citizens and investors for higher environmental, ethical, and social standards.
This is a significant finding from a Pre-Budget Survey performed by the advising company KPMG, which collected 70 responses from “100 leading enterprises operating in Ghana across 10 sectors of the economy.”
The report suggested that failure to swiftly address issues around Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) at a national level will have dire implications for the country’s near-term financing options, as well as its long-term environmental sustainability.
Referencing the decision by global rating agencies Moody’s and Fitch to lower the country’s long-term issuer rating to ‘Caa2’ and ‘CCC’ respectively – in part due to its low ESG credit impact score – the KPMG said: “Government has the opportunity to seize this moment to re-establish its role with respect to driving gains on major ESG issues”.
“Even though the government of Ghana signed the Paris Agreement, it needs to take action to save the environment. This includes, but is not limited to, regular tree-planting exercises and stopping illegal mining,” read the report signed off by Anthony Sarpong, Senior Partner and Head of Advisory & Markets.
Furthermore, overall handling of the illegal mining (galamsey) menace by the state was deemed overwhelmingly inadequate – with the majority of respondents (84.3 percent) expressing dissatisfaction with government’s efforts in that regard, compared with only 2.9 percent of the respondents who were “highly satisfied”.
With the value of ESG assets being estimated to rise to as much as US$160trillion by 2036, with the International Finance Corporation suggesting that climate-facing investment opportunities in emerging markets could reach US$23trillion by 2030, key financial sector players like the Bank of Ghana and Ghana Stock Exchange have developed ESG guidelines for institutions under their remit.
Richer, more industrialised nations have failed to meet a long-standing pledge to deliver US$100billion by 2020 to aid poorer countries adjust to climate change, falling short by US$17billion.
This led to a number of voices at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), including that of President Nana Addo Dankwwa Akufo Addo, calling on those nations to redeem their pledges – seeing that they have contributed more to climate change than their less-industrialised peers.
Analysts are however convinced that recent global developments show that each nation must lead its own ESG charge.
“Now is the time for government to transform its mindset and consider ESG holistically as central to its mission… Now is the time for government to lead by example,” KPMG added.
The Coast South Constituency Member of Parliament claimed the decision would cause inflation in an interview with Sammy Eshun on the Happy morning show.
Mr. Ricketts-Hagan believes that while the resolution is a good step toward boosting the economy, it is also a bad idea because it will raise food prices.
“You will realize that’s a good idea which would save us the exchange rate and save us some dollars but is a bad decision because it would cause unnecessary panic and shortages in the system and in the long run contribute to inflation.
“It would have to be a program whether they take a year or two to do this for example maybe in this year’s budget we would cut 25% importation on rice, in the next year or six months’ time we would cut another 25% so by that time you would have stopped entirely while providing the necessary things for local farmers and distributors who would be able to provide rice and oil to meet the demands of people,” he added.
Bank of Ghana said the affected items included rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpick, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles and other non–critical goods.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0990 and a selling price of 13.1122. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.55 and sold at a rate of 14.95.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.4710 and a selling price of 15.4891 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 15.6128 and a selling price of 15.6297.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 16.60 and sold at a rate of 17.25.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 13.4262 and a selling price of 13.4408 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.5692 and a selling price of 13.5839.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 14.50 and sold at a rate of 15.20.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7571 and a selling price of 0.7576 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 0.7598 and a selling price of 0.7605.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.8479 and a selling price of 33.9082 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 33.7657 and a selling price of 33.8992.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 17.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 21.50.
For the CFA, it is trading at a buying price of 48.4208 and a selling price of 48.4939.
At a forex bureau in Accra, CFA is being bought at a rate of 19.70 CFA for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 23.50 CFA for every 1 Cedi.
According to the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), the budget and economic strategy for 2023 will “make or break” the economy; therefore, it cannot be designed and implemented “business as usual.”
At a news conference in Accra, Dr. John K. Kwakye, Director of Research, IEA, said, “It must break from the past and chart a new route to restore economic stability, while building the framework for long-term sustainable growth and poverty eradication.”
Dr. Kwakye said that because of increasing borrowing and the adoption of “less ambitious” tax and revenue targets that were much lower than those of peers in the sub-region, the nation was experiencing “self-inflicted” resource constraints in the midst of an economic crisis.
He, therefore, called for the increase in collection of tax revenue targets from about 12 to 13 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to at least 15 to 16 percent in 2023 and 18 to 20 percent in 2024.
Meanwhile, total revenue targets, he said, could be increased from the current level of 15-16 percent of GDP to between 18 to 20 percent in 2023 and 22 to 25 percent in 2024.
Achieving the new targets, he said would entail addressing revenue loopholes and inefficiencies that took the form of tax exemptions to privileged individuals, poor property rate regime; tax evasion, administrative corruption, and trade mis-invoicing among others.
He said there must also be a “curtailing” of recurrent expenditure in the 2023 budget to free resources for capital expenditure to boost long-term growth prospects.
“The curtailment should target, especially compensation through considerable downsizing of the public sector, including the overall Government machinery, ” he said.
“As we have repeatedly argued, the Inflation Targeting (IT) framework used by BoG, essentially a demand-management tool, is less capable of dealing with Ghana’s type of inflation that has strong supply and cost undercurrents, ” he said.
The IEA has also noted that structural solution to the cedi depreciation must be geared towards closing the foreign exchange demand-supply gap through a fundamental restructuring of the economy.
“On the one hand, the restructuring must be directed to expanding, diversifying and processing export commodities to increase forex receipts, ” Dr Kwakye added.
The Institute also called on the Government to review all extractives tax regimes to ensure that Ghana derived adequate benefits; ensure fiscal and debt sustainability; shore up financial buffers such as stabilisation fund, sinking fund, and infrastructure Investment Fund, among others.
This was brought on by the government’s excessive borrowing as well as other revenue deficits that required fundraising expenses.
Ghana’s debt is currently around GH450 billion.
In September of this year, as a result of increased borrowing to cover revenue gaps and support mounting expenses, Ghana’s indebtedness reached an all-time high.
The public debt stock in Ghana was GH273.8 billion in September of this year, according to data from the Bank of Ghana (BoG), the highest level since the bank began disclosing information about the amount the country owes.
The September this year stock was equivalent to 71 percent of total economic output, measured by gross domestic product (GDP), according to the data released by the central bank ahead of a press conference Monday.
The debt stock was GH¢201.9 billion (59.8% of GDP) in September last year but rose by 35.6 percent to GH¢273.8 billion this September.
It also showed that GH¢71.9 billion was added to the debt stock within the 12-month period.
The foreign component was GH¢138.5 billion, equivalent to 35.9 percent of GDP while the domestic share was GH¢135.3 billion, representing 35.1 percent of GDP.
Although a norm for countries, the weight of Ghana’s debt relative to its revenues has been worrisome, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group consistently ranking the country as a high-risk debt distress country since 2015.
Therefore, as of November 21, 2022, all participants in the financial sector have been directed by the Bank of Ghana to stop providing HudsonPrice Data Solution with information regarding the credit histories of their clients.
With the revocation of Hudson Price’s license, the country now has two credit reference bureaus licensed by the Bank of Ghana namely XDS Data and Dun and Bradstreet.
The BoG however noted that commercial banks must take note of the directive and comply accordingly.
Meanwhile, XDS Data was the first credit reference bureau to be licensed by the Bank of Ghana as it was expected to help reduce the cost of credit in the country.
As compared to Friday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0991 and a selling price of 13.1123. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.50 and sold at a rate of 14.90.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.6128 and a selling price of 15.6297 as compared to Friday’s trading of a buying price of 15.4216 and a selling price of 15.4462.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 16.60 and sold at a rate of 17.20.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 13.5692 and a selling price of 13.5839 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.5266 and a selling price of 13.5470.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 14.60 and sold at a rate of 15.10.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7598 and a selling price of 0.7605 as compared to Friday’s trading of a buying price of 0.7512 and a selling price of 0.7524.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.7657 and a selling price of 33.8992 as compared to Friday’s trading of a buying price of 33.7632 and a selling price of 33.8898.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 17.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 21.50.
For the CFA, it is trading at a buying price of 48.4208 and a selling price of 48.4939.
At a forex bureau in Accra, CFA is being bought at a rate of 19.70 CFA for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 23.50 CFA for every 1 Cedi.
Our forex bureau rates are provided by Afriswap Bureau De Change in Osu, Accra.
The Bank of Ghana has been urged to offer clear timetables for its new order on releasing foreign exchange for imports, according to the president of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA).
He claimed that because the news was made after traders had already purchased products, the Bank of Ghana’s removal of support could have a disastrous effect on some companies.
“We are requesting timetables from the Bank of Ghana.
How will we pay for items that have already been purchased, if we are to assume that the regulation would apply to fresh imports?
The website citinewsroom.com cites Dr. Obeng.
The same businessmen will invest in the other industries that the government is attempting to develop, he added.
“In accordance with the president’s directive issued at his recent address to the nation on the Ghanaian economy on Sunday, 30 October 2022, the Bank of Ghana will no longer provide FX support for the imports of rice, poultry, vegetable oils, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles, and other non-critical goods,” an electronic message to banks read.
Fitch Solutions stated that the central bank is anticipated to raise the policy rate to 27 percent by the end of 2023 in a recent article on Ghana that was published on November 14, 2022.
However, it thinks that the increase will push real rates upward.
The paper stated: “We anticipate that this will push real rates into positive territory, promoting capital inflows and supporting the exchange rate, allowing the cedi to decline at a slower rate over 2023.”
Touching on measures to address soaring inflationary pressures, Fitch Solutions said it expects Ghana’s central bank to further tighten its monetary policy as part of conditionalities of an imminent International Monetary Fund deal on the basis that Ghana secures a programme by the first quarter of 2023.
“Given that we expect inflation to remain high, we expect that Ghana would have to tighten monetary policy as a condition of the IMF deal,” Fitch Solutions added.
Since the start of this year, the BoG has hiked the monetary policy rate by about 10 percent to 24.5 percent in October 2022.
“While we expect to see an uptick in protests against austerity measures that would likely be implemented under an IMF programme, we do not believe they will threaten the overall stability of the government. This is factored into our Short-Term Political Risk Index, in which Ghana scores 62.0 out of 100 (a higher score implies lower risk), above the Sub-Saharan African average of 50.3.”
Meanwhile, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana are expected to begin its final and scheduled meeting for the year to review economic developments and make a determination of the next policy rate decision.
There has been much uproar about the government’s decision to borrow 9.6 billion Ghana cedis to help banks that were unable to become operational. Was this a wise decision? There is discussion. It is not in dispute in my mind.
“There is a law that governs the establishment of banks and there’s an authority that provides a license for people to establish banks, and that authority is the Central Bank. So when the Central Bank gives license to Company A to act as a bank, it means they can take deposits of the public…. The public doesn’t know the rules and regulations that go into granting a license…,” he added.
He explained that the government had no choice in the matter since it was the duty of the Central Bank; Bank of Ghana to issue licenses to legitimate companies or firms to accept deposits of clients.
Mr. Osafo Marfo stressed that the decision was not debatable because the situation imploded as a result of a lack of accountability.
“…there has been a lot of hue and cry about the government arranged to borrow some 9.6billion Ghana Cedis to support those banks who failed to make them operational; was it right or not? People are debating. To me, it is not debatable.” He told some finance professionals during a workshop on Public Financial Management organised by Trust Consult at
“There is a law that governs the establishment of banks and there’s an authority that provides license for people to establish banks, and that authority is the Central Bank. So when the Central Bank gives license to Company A to act as a bank, it means they can take deposit of the public…. The public doesn’t know the rules and regulations that goes into granting a license…
Once somebody announces that I’m Bank XYZ it is assumed that the bank of Ghana who granted the license would have taken them through the rigmarole of the law and therefore the depositor is protected to put his money there..” he indicated.
The Former Finance Minister under the Kufuor regime noted that the problems of the various banks with issues would have been detected long ago if supervision was top notch. He stressed that government’s choice to protect the depositors was the right call since they had three years to prevent the outcome.
“..Government’s choice is to protect the depositor, and I don’t think the government has a choice. What’s your choice, that you did not supervise properly; did not detect something which you should have done three years ago… and some innocent man whose sweat and money is been put there should suffer as a result of it, the answer is no!”, he added.
Background
Government intervened with GH¢12.7 billion of public funds, made up of a GH¢8 billion bond issued by the Ministry of Finance, and GH¢4.7 billion of liquidity support from the Bank of Ghana, to be injected into the seven banks that failed.
The Bank of Ghana collapsed five banks into a Consolidated Bank of Ghana Limited citing insolvency after investigations by the Central Bank.
The banks were BEIGE, Sovereign, Construction, UniBank, and Royal Bank.
Kofi Bentil, the vice-president of IMANI Africa has described the decision by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to halt forex support for imports for some eight items as a bad move, which will badly affect the poor.
The items include rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles and other non-critical goods.
The move, according to the central bank, is in accordance with the president’s directive, issued in his recent address on the Ghanaian economy, made to the nation on Sunday 30 October 2022.
An electronic message from the Bank of Ghana to banks in the country said: “In accordance with the president’s directive, issued in his recent address to the nation on the Ghanaian economy on Sunday 30 October 2022, the Bank of Ghana will no longer provide FX support for the imports of rice, poultry, vegetable oils, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles and other non-critical goods.”
“Please be advised and act accordingly,” the Bank said.
Reacting to the development on Facebook, Bentil said the policy will force importers to rely on the open market for forex, adding that it will drive up prices of goods.
“Another round of policy incoherence has been unleashed. We will all suffer, especially the poor.
“You support essentials whose price increase will affect the poor. Toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles are NOT essential. You don’t need to support their imports.
“If you withdraw support. You haven’t reduced demand, you’ve just created shortage, so The importers will buy FOREX from the open market and drive-up FOREX rates. And that will also drive-up prices of these essentials and everyone will suffer especially the poor,” Bentil posted.
The Bank of Ghana has been presented with the “Best FinTech Policy of the Year” award, under the Innovation and Excellence Awards category at the Connected Banking West Africa Summit, 2022.
The award received on Wednesday, 16th November 2022 is in recognition of the various policies of the Bank of Ghana that had fostered digital financial services, accelerated financial inclusion and positioned Ghana as a preferred destination for FinTech business in the West African sub-region.
Industry watchers and pundits think Ghana’s FinTech ecosystem is poised to grow at an accelerated pace following the establishment of the Regulatory Sandbox to serve as a regulatory-forbearing environment to nurture innovative financial products and business models.
The Connected Banking Summit is an annual FinTech industry flagship programme of the African continent organised by the International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA).
The summit brings together captains of the financial service industry, FinTechs, policy makers, regulators and technology service providers to dialogue and exchange ideas on emerging trends in FinTech and deploy technology to engender inclusive and safe financial services in Africa.
President of Food and Beverages Association of Ghana, Samuel Aggrey, has reacted to the Bank of Ghana’s announcement on withdrawing forex support to importers of rice, poultry, toothpick, vegetable oil, pasta, fruit juice, ceramic tiles among other non-critical items.
The central bank said the new policy forms part of measures to fight the depreciation of the local currency – cedi.
Speaking on this new development on Starr News, Mr Aggrey wondered who advised government to take such a decision.
He said the new policy was not the best.
Samuel Aggrey stated that Ghana cannot produce enough of the aforementioned items for Ghanaians’ perusal.
“The announcement made by the Bank of Ghana is not the best, we cannot even tell who is advising the government on such a policy. Because the very things that we seek to stop importing are something that we cannot raise enough for the country,” he said.
“Therefore, if we try to put a stop to it then we are going to make other people poorer and food scarcity will set in. With what they have said, come next year it will be very difficult for importers to bring in these products to substitute the shortage that may come in,” Mr Aggrey added.
The Bank of Ghana has withdrawn foreign exchange support to customers for the importation of certain non-critical or essential goods.
According to reports, the withdrawal of the FX support for the importation of these non-essential goods took effect in the past three weeks.
The goods affected include rice, poultry, vegetable oils, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles.
An electronic message from the Bank of Ghana stated that, “in accordance with the President’s directive issued at his recent address to the nation on the Ghanaian economy, on Sunday 30th October 2022, the Bank of Ghana will no longer provide FX support for the imports of rice, poultry, vegetable oils, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles and other non-critical goods. Please be advised and act accordingly”.
Speaking on Atinka TV‘s morning show, Ghana Nie with Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Prof John Osei Bobbie said, “In the short term, everyone will suffer. It will not be surprising that the prices of these goods will shoot up. However, in the long term, Ghanaians stand to benefit because Ghanaians have called for this for a long time.”
Touching on the support by the government, he said although individuals import their own goods, the government supports them by making provision for the acquisition of the dollars they can use to import those goods.
Aside from that, Prof John Osei Bobbie said the government supports the importers with certification to authenticate their business.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0872 and a selling price of 13.1022. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.40 and sold at a rate of 14.90.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.4216 and a selling price of 15.4462 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 15.5617 and a selling price of 15.5799.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 13.5266 and a selling price of 13.5470 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.5969 and a selling price of 13.6105.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 14.55 and sold at a rate of 15.05.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.65 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.7632 and a selling price of 33.8898 as compared to Friday’s trading of a buying price of 33.8271 and a selling price of 33.9839.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 17.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 21.50.
For the CFA, it is trading at a buying price of 48.4208 and a selling price of 48.4939.
At a forex bureau in Accra, CFA is being bought at a rate of 19.70 CFA for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 23.50 CFA for every 1 Cedi.
An Executive Member of the Food and Beverage Importers Association has commended the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for the withdrawal of foreign exchange support for the importation of non-essential goods.
Mr John Awuni said the withdrawal of FX support for the importation of these items will help the country to focus on consumption of locally produced goods, thus order is in the right direction.
“On the face value, it is a very good policy. In the sense that we are in very difficult and critical times … For me in terms of economics, that is right,” he said.
He, however noted that “the decision has not been formulated based on any information.”
Efforts to curb importation of foreign products and promote the consumption of locally produced commodities are underway as the Bank of Ghana has withdrawn foreign exchange support for importation of what it describes as “non-essential” goods.
These goods include rice, vegetable oils, poultry, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, etc.
The measure is in line with a directive issued by the President at his recent address to the nation on the Ghanaian economy, on Sunday 30th October, 2022, an electronic message from the Bank of Ghanato the banks said.
During the address the President mentioned that the Bank of Ghana will no longer provide FX support for the imports of rice, poultry, vegetable oils, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles and other non-critical goods”.
Although this was recently announced by the Bank of Ghana, reports indicate that the withdrawal took effect about three weeks ago.
“Please be advised and act accordingly”, the message added.
Efforts to curb importation of foreign products and promote the consumption of locally produced commodities are underway as the Bank of Ghana has withdrawn foreign exchange support for importation of what it describes as “non-essential” goods.
These goods include rice, vegetable oils,poultry, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, etc.
The measure is in line with a directive issued by the President at his recent address to the nation on the Ghanaian economy, on Sunday 30th October, 2022, an electronic message from the Bank of Ghana to the banks said.
During the address the President mentioned that the Bank of Ghana will no longer provide FX support for the imports of rice, poultry, vegetable oils, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles and other non-critical goods”.
Although this was recently announced by the Bank of Ghana, reports indicate that the withdrawal took effect about three weeks ago.
“Please be advised and act accordingly”, the message added.
According to research by the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF), more than 600,000 tonnes of frozen chicken were imported into the country in 2021.
The data, sourced from the European Union (EU), indicated that 569 million pieces of frozen chicken were imported into the country last year, translating into $600 million.
This represented 98% of chicken consumed in the country.
Also, in 2018, President of Association Ghana Industry, Dr. Yaw Adu Gyamfi, disclosed that GHC 18 million worth of toothpicks were imported from China into the country in 2017 for its hospitality industry. This figure he said was recorded from January 2017 to December 2017.
Considering the high numbers of imports of these products, this policy has been touted as one that will help reduce the country’s exposure to imports.
It will also subsequently reduce the high demand for US dollars and other major foreign currencies, and consequently slow down the rapid depreciation of the cedi.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0742 and a selling price of 13.0872. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.35 and sold at a rate of 14.95.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.5617 and a selling price of 15.5799 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 15.5334 and a selling price of 15.5503.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 16.40 and sold at a rate of 17.00.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 13.5969 and a selling price of 13.6105 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.5497 and a selling price of 13.5623.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 14.30 and sold at a rate of 14.90.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.65 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.8271 and a selling price of 33.8806 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 33.9717 and a selling price of 33.9722.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 17.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 21.00.
For the CFA, it is trading at a buying price of 48.1949 and a selling price of 48.9062. At a forex bureau in Accra, CFA is being bought at a rate of 19.70 CFA for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 23.50 CFA for every 1 Cedi.
The Interbank forex rates from the Bank of Ghana today, November 17, 2022, have shown that the Ghana Cedi is trading against the dollar at a buying price of 13.0872 and a selling price of 13.1022.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0742 and a selling price of 13.0872. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.35 and sold at a rate of 14.95.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.5617 and a selling price of 15.5799 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 15.5334 and a selling price of 15.5503.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 16.40 and sold at a rate of 17.00.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 13.5969 and a selling price of 13.6105 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.5497 and a selling price of 13.5623.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 14.30 and sold at a rate of 14.90.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7573 and a selling price of 0.7577 compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 0.7557 and a selling price of 0.7559.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.65 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.8271 and a selling price of 33.8806 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 33.9717 and a selling price of 33.9722.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 17.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 21.00.
For the CFA, it is trading at a buying price of 48.1949 and a selling price of 48.9062. At a forex bureau in Accra, CFA is being bought at a rate of 19.70 CFA for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 23.50 CFA for every 1 Cedi.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0744 and a selling price of 13.0824.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.20 and sold at a rate of 14.80.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.5334 and a selling price of 15.5503 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 15.3676 and a selling price of 15.3856.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 16.20 and sold at a rate of 16.90.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 13.5497 and a selling price of 13.5632 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.5079 and a selling price of 13.5214.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 14.20 and sold at a rate of 14.75.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7557 and a selling price of 0.7559 compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 0.7555 and a selling price of 0.7552.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.9126 and a selling price of 33.9722 as compared to Friday’s trading of a buying price of 33.8188 and a selling price of 33.9717.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 17.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 21.00.
For the CFA, it is trading at a buying price of 48.3630 and a selling price of 48.4112.
At a forex bureau in Accra, CFA is being bought at a rate of 19.70 CFA for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 23.50 CFA for every 1 Cedi.
This creates space for Mobile Money (MoMo) merchants, the number of whom has been rising, to “milk” the government of anticipated revenue from the Electronic Transactions Levy (E-levy), as merchants bargain with clients for a charge, forcing them to avoid paying tax.
According to the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) 2021 Payment Systems Oversight Annual Report, the overall number of active mobile money users climbed by 2.4% year over year, while the number of active mobile money agents increased by 29%.
Some MoMo merchants in Accra who spoke on anonymity with the Ghana News Agency as well as mobile money users admitted going into such agreement to avoid paying taxes, especially on transactions amounting to GHS1,000 and above.
The Electronic Transactions Levy Act, which was introduced in May 2020, comes with a 1.5 per cent charge on transactions exceeding a cumulative GHS100 per day in addition to charges by service providers (MTN and AirtelTigo).
The revenue from the E-levy is to support the Government’s YouStart entrepreneurship programme, digital infrastructure, and cybersecurity, and increase Ghana’s tax-to-GDP ratio to 20 per cent by 2024 for national development.
CEFIS observed that “in many commercial transactions, the parties involved negotiate based on a ‘gentleman’s agreement’, where the sender deposites cash into the wallet of the receiver through a MoMo merchant account to avoid the payment of its corresponding e-levy charge.”
Prof Anthony Amoah, a co-author of the study, who spoke to GNA, said: “We observed that consumers have created a gateway to avoid the tax, giving that tax avoidance is not criminal.”
He said that the strategy of using the e-levy as a conduit to get the informal sector to contribute to national revenue had failed, as the informal sector, the most active group, was exploiting the loopholes.
“Those who do transactions like GHS50 and GHS100 are already exempted from paying the tax but those who pay above the cumulative GHS100 are avoiding it and it’s actually those who are doing bigger transactions that do it more,” he said.
Prof Amoah added that: “This means that it is the agent that benefits and not the Government, and we found that the number of agents is going up because it’s more profitable to be in that business, but it is very discouraging to the Government.”
“If the Government reduces the rate from the 1.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent and people don’t feel the impact, then you’re going to rake them in,” Prof Amoah, who is a Development Economist, said.
The evidence from the simulations suggested that if the levy was revised to 0.5 per cent, and 54 per cent of the existing active users patronised MoMo transactions, the expected revenue for 2022 would be GHS2,640,600,000.81.
That revenue would rise by 21.4 per cent to yield GHS3,205,688,401.01 in 2023, and in 2024, reach GHS3,635,234,306.60, and by 2025, the projected revenue from e-levy would reach GHS4,043,980,051.74.
The Bank of Ghana stated that employees of banks have been the brain behind over 90% of banking fraud-related cases.
According to the Director of Financial Stability at the Bank of Ghana Dr. Joe France, “You can have the best employees who are doing well, but if their integrity and trust are questionable, then it poses serious problems.”
He however urged banks to be circumspect about the kinds of persons they employ in their various organizations.
Dr. Joe France, the Director of Financial Stability, at the Bank of Ghana has said that over 90 percent of fraud-related cases in the banking sector are associated with employees.
According to him, their investigations showed that some of the banking staff masterminded most of these frauds and urged the management of Banks to be wary of the people they recruit and do proper checks before employing them.
Dr. France said this in Accra at the launch of “EMP-Verify”, a GAVAC Business Solutions that detects the backgrounds of individuals to mitigate risks in organizations as well as the banking sector.
He said the financial sector thrives on trust and confidence, and that, it was imperative for financial institutions to do due diligence in recruiting staff for optimum performance.
Dr. France said one case of fraud could dent the reputation of the bank, urging players in the sector to exhibit a high sense of integrity in the discharge of their responsibilities.
He said on their part, the Bank of Ghana had put in place strong mechanisms to check the backgrounds of staff before engaging their services.
That, he explained, was necessary because the first sector handles funds of clients and it was prudent for the public to have confidence in fund managers and ensure that the funds are protected from any threats.
“You can have the best employees who are doing well, but if their integrity and trust is questionable, then it poses serious problems”, he added.
He called for collaboration to flush out these risks through robust systems.
Mrs Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, the Director General, Criminal Investigation Department, said her outfit had digitised all convicted crimes from 1957 to date for easy references.
She said one of the challenges facing the department is the ability to put a credible evidence at the court since there were weak documentations.
“Truth is not evidence. You may be saying the truth, but if it is not backed with evidence, it becomes difficult for prosecution”, she added.
She commended GAVAC Solutions for bringing on board a system to check background of potential staff before recruitment and urged organizations to take advantage of the system to protect and secure assets.
Mr Harry Baiden, the Founder of GAVAC Business Solutions said statistics revealed that 88 percent of curriculum vitae are falsified.
He said comprehensive checks not only look at criminal and educational records but the candidate’s conduct, social network and reputation, employment history, and place of residence.
He explained that the EMP-Verify system helps Human Resource partners and recruiters to make informed decisions, and avoid negligent hiring, and the negative impact and cost associated with it.
According to him, their investigations showed that some of the banking staff masterminded most of these frauds and urged the management of Banks to be wary of the people they recruit and do proper checks before employing them.
Dr. France said this in Accra at the launch of “EMP-Verify”, a GAVAC Business Solutions that detects the backgrounds of individuals to mitigate risks in organizations as well as the banking sector.
He said the financial sector thrives on trust and confidence, and that, it was imperative for financial institutions to do due diligence in recruiting staff for optimum performance.
He said on their part, the Bank of Ghana had put in place strong mechanisms to check the backgrounds of staff before engaging their services.
That, he explained, was necessary because the first sector handles funds of clients and it was prudent for the public to have confidence in fund managers and ensure that the funds are protected from any threats.
“You can have the best employees who are doing well, but if their integrity and trust is questionable, then it poses serious problems”, he added.
He called for collaboration to flush out these risks through robust systems.
She said one of the challenges facing the department is the ability to put a credible evidence at the court since there were weak documentations.
“Truth is not evidence. You may be saying the truth, but if it is not backed with evidence, it becomes difficult for prosecution”, she added.
She commended GAVAC Solutions for bringing on board a system to check background of potential staff before recruitment and urged organizations to take advantage of the system to protect and secure assets.
Mr Harry Baiden, the Founder of GAVAC Business Solutions said statistics revealed that 88 percent of curriculum vitae are falsified.
He said comprehensive checks not only look at criminal and educational records but the candidate’s conduct, social network and reputation, employment history, and place of residence.
He explained that the EMP-Verify system helps Human Resource partners and recruiters to make informed decisions, and avoid negligent hiring, and the negative impact and cost associated with it.
Isaac Adongo, the MP for Bolgatanga Central, claims that the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) decision to deny his request to review the BoG’s report on the funding source used by the Ghana Amalgamated Trust to purchase shares in five local banks, namely Universal Merchant Bank, OmniBSIC Bank, National Investment Bank, Agricultural Development Bank, and Prudential Bank, is incorrect and without legal foundation.
Through the Right to Informational Act 2019 (ACT 989), Mr. Adongo had asked the central bank for the aforementioned data, but his request had been denied.
In response, Mr Adongo through his lawyers has written to the Bank of Ghana to comply with his request because it is prudent for parliament and Ghanaians to know the factual basis for the recapitalisation of the five banks.
Details of his request are contained in the documents below:
Host of Good Evening Ghana, Paul Adom-Otchere has criticised the modus operandi of investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, following his recent expose implicating Minister of State for Finance, Charles Adu Boahen.
According to the journalists, he ever escaped two attempts of entrapment when some people sought to cause him to implicate himself.
“These things happen all the time and I have had experiences that I will share with you. First one happened many years ago in 2006 or 2007. I had some job to do in Takoradi so I was in a car going to Takoradi with two or three friends of mine.”
“The guy called me with some Arab sounding tone, he says he likes my programme and I said okay. Then he says he wants to appear on my programme. I said Okay you can appear on my programme, what do you want to say? He says he wants to talk about how my programme is good but the reason why he is calling me is that he wanted to know how much it costs to appear on my programme,” he recounted.
Paul Adom-Otchere noted that despite the insistence of the caller, he declined the invitation from the man who said he will ‘treat him well’
“I said please I am not interested in you making me happy. I am happy already, if you want to do something on the programme go to commercial,” he stated.
The programme host added that it later turned out that the call was a prank call from programme aired on Peace FM.
He further recalled his second experience where another anonymous caller sought to induce him with a proposal of leading him to meet the president.
“2018 or 2019, somebody called me and says he has 19 million dollars to give to Bank of Ghana but he is having difficulty in bringing the money to the Bank of Ghana so he called me. I said so what do you want me to do? He says I want you to take me the president and I said really? You want to bring money to Ghana and you want to go to the president, okay, go to Bank of Ghana and talk to them about it or go to finance ministry and talk to them about it.”
“Then he said I have 54 million. I said your 19 has now jumped to 54? He said yes, we have a lot of money we want to bring to Ghana but we want influential people we can take us…” he recalled.
He noted that he ignored the proposal by the anonymous caller insisting that he takes his business proposal to the appropriate government quarters.
“Should we be doing that as a country? I don’t agree. Should we engender, facilitate and encourage this kind of way in which we find corruption? I am not sure we should do that,” he cautioned.
Aremeyaw Anas’s latest exposé dubbed ‘Galamsey Economy’ has compelled President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to sack the Minister of State in Charge of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen from office.
Charles Adu Boahen on video alleged that Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia needs just USD200,000 as an ‘appearance fee’ and some positions by an investor for his siblings to get his backing and influence in establishing a business in Ghana.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0694 and a selling price of 13.0824. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.25 and sold at a rate of 14.80.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.3676 and a selling price of 15.3856 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 15.4179 and a selling price of 15.4347.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of and a selling price of as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.5079 and a selling price of 13.5214. At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 14.15 and sold at a rate of 14.80.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7555 and a selling price of 0.7563 compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 0.7563 and a selling price of 0.7570.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.65 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 18.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 22.00.
For the CFA, it is trading at a buying price of 48.4627 and a selling price of 48.5107. At a forex bureau in Accra, CFA is being bought at a rate of 19.30 CFA for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 23.50 CFA for every 1 Cedi.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) claims that since 2021, it hasn’t given the government more than GH70 billion to operate the economy.
“Claims on the government increased to GH34.8 billion at the end of December 2021, and have recently increased further to GH40.2 billion at the end of October 2022, reflecting an increase of GH5.3 billion in 2022, which was the result of premature unwinding of positions held by some banks,” the BoG said in a statement in Accra that was forwarded to the Ghanaian Times on Friday.
The declaration is in response to charges made last week by Isaac Adongo, the member of parliament for Bolgatanga Central, who claimed that the BoG has “illegally” funded government to the tune of at least 70 billion since 2021.
The BoG explained that the current total claims on government “Represent the stock of debt held by the BoG and reflect accumulated claims for over 20 years, including legacy assets such as the Telecom Malaysia Bonds issued in relation to the privatisation of Ghana Telecom and Tema Oil Refinery Bonds.”
The statement said at the end of December 2020, the claims on government stock position stood at GH¢34.1 billion and included the GH¢10 billion COVID-19 bond purchased by the BoG.
The BoG explained that its recent disbursement to the government were resources granted by the International Monetary Fund, among others, under the Special Drawing Right (SDR) and Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) programme to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy.
“This reflects a revaluation of these claims in the Bank of Ghana’s books to account for exchange rate developments. This figure does not reflect Bank of Ghana’s lending to government but rather resources from the IMF that were required to be passed on to government in line with approvals by the IMF Board. And the increase in the amount in 2022 does not reflect new cash transactions but rather merely a book-entry figure, driven in large part, by the depreciation of the currency,” it said.
It said due to the downgrade by the international rating agencies, there were no inflows from external sources to support budget implementation this year, and thus the BoG supported government to the tune of GH¢25.6 billion as at October, saying “This support is temporary and consistent with crisis management as we work with the IMF to design a debt operation that will lift the burden of debt servicing off the budget.”
The statement further said, BoG’s total outstanding swaps, repurchase agreements and sale and buy back transactions stood at US$2.4 billion as at end October 2022, of which only US$720 million and was expected to mature by the close of the year.
“We wish to assure the public that the BoG is a reputable institution, which is professional with high standards. We have been recognised and awarded internationally on this score and all operations and policy decisions of the bank are conducted with a high sense of duty and integrity to the best interest of the economy,” the BoG said.
A financial analyst, Dr Micheal Dawson, has urged citizens to lend their support to the Bank of Ghana and its leadership for implementing raft measures to address the current economic situation.
Dr Michael Dawson believes that the recent decision to increase the monetary policy rate in order to ensure inflation does not spiral out of control is apt on the part of the Governor and his MPC team.
Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb Business, Dr Dawson said the recent assurances given by the BoG governor, Dr Ernest Addison, indicating that there is enough liquidity in the financial sector will boost the confidence of investors and shareholders.
“The decision to increase the policy rate in the last MPC meeting was apt but as you know the way our politics is done in Ghana, that has not been appreciated. Without the BoG’s interventions, the economic situation would have been triple times worse and the current measures being implemented by the central bank are yielding some results while the country awaits an IMF support programme.”
“I am also aware of the recent clamp down to flush out the activities of the ‘black market’ operators in the system and this I understand forms part of measures to ensure a stable currency for businesses and citizens to thrive.”
“Despite the current situation, l have not heard of any financial institution complain of liquidity challenges because the Central Bank has given assurance that there is liquidity and so I personally believe as a nation, we must support and encourage the Governor and his team at this difficult time.”
Dr Dawson said this in reaction to remarks made by the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo, who accused the BoG Governor for contributing to the current economic situation.
“I think we shouldn’t politicise the situation but rather support the BoG Governor to implement these raft measures as the economic situation is not only peculiar to Ghana but is global one that is being felt in even advanced economies” he noted.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Ghana has assured universal banks in the country and other stakeholders that it will ensure there is enough liquidity until Ghana secures an IMF-supported programme.
Due to the current economic crisis, Ghana in July this year restored to the IMF for an economic support programme to restore macroeconomic stability, among others. The county is targeting $3 billion from the Fund once an agreement is reached.
In a speech read on his behalf at the 19th Ashanti Business Excellence Awards by Sewuahene, Nana Kwaku Sarkodie, the Asantehene expressed worry over the depreciation of the local currency against other foreign trading currencies.
He urged the central bank to implement measures to bring predictability to Ghana`s export and import trade, as well as other international financial transactions.
“I will like to make reference to the unsettling turbulence which has characterized Ghana’s foreign currency market, Since the beginning of the year, there has been an astronomical depreciation of the cedi against Ghana’s major foreign currencies, particularly the US Dollar.
I have no doubt that the Bank of Ghana is doing its best to remedy the situation, but the central bank is doing its best to remedy the situation, but I must urge the central bank to urgently take all the requisite steps within its competence to return the foreign market to stability, in order to bring predictability to Ghana`s export and import trade, as well as other international financial transactions”, he said.
The cedi ended last week with a marginal appreciation, but the cedi has depreciated again to GH¢14.20 to one dollar which is the average quote by the forex bureaus.
The free fall of the cedi coupled with the recent economic crisis in the country has triggered calls for immediate measures to be implemented by the government to resolve the situation.
President Akufo Addo in his address on Sunday, October 30, announced some measures the government intends to put in place to address the fall of the cedi and the current economic crisis.
On the Interbank forex rates from the Bank of Ghana as of November 11, 2022, the Ghana Cedi is trading against the dollar at a buying price of 13.0694 and a selling price of 13.0824.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0494 and a selling price of 13.0624. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.30 and sold at a rate of 14.90.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.2572 and a selling price of 15.2751 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 15.0890 and a selling price of 15.0890.
At a forex ureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 15.90 and sold at a rate of 16.75.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 13.2983 and a selling price of 13.3104 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 13.0850 and a selling price of 13.0993.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7490 and a selling price of 0.7498 compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 0.7348 and a selling price of 0.7355.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.65 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
Our forex bureau rates are provided by Afriswap Bureau De Change in Osu, Accra.
On the Interbank forex rates from the Bank of Ghana as of November 11, 2022, the Ghana Cedi is trading against the dollar at a buying price of 13.0694 and a selling price of 13.0824.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0494 and a selling price of 13.0624. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.30 and sold at a rate of 14.90.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.2572 and a selling price of 15.2751 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 15.0890 and a selling price of 15.0890.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 15.90 and sold at a rate of 16.75.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 13.2983 and a selling price of 13.3104 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 13.0850 and a selling price of 13.0993.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 13.90 and sold at a rate of 14.90.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7490 and a selling price of 0.7498 compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 0.7348 and a selling price of 0.7355.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.65 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.8835 and a selling price of 34.0337 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 33.8835 and a selling price of 34.0337.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 13.50 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 17.50.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0494 and a selling price of 13.0624. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.30 and sold at a rate of 14.90.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 15.2572 and a selling price of 15.2751 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 15.0890 and a selling price of 15.0890.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 15.90 and sold at a rate of 16.75.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 13.90 and sold at a rate of 14.90.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7490 and a selling price of 0.7498 compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 0.7348 and a selling price of 0.7355.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.65 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.8835 and a selling price of 34.0337 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 33.8835 and a selling price of 34.0337.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 13.50 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 17.50.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has appealed to the Bank of Ghana to take necessary steps to stabilize the forex market.
In a speech read on his behalf at the 19th Ashanti Business Excellence Awards by Sewuahene, Nana Kwaku Sarkodie, the Asantehene expressed worry over the depreciation of the local currency against other foreign trading currencies.
He urged the central bank to implement measures to bring predictability to Ghana`s export and import trade, as well as other international financial transactions.
“I will like to make reference to the unsettling turbulence which has characterized Ghana’s foreign currency market, Since the beginning of the year, there has been an astronomical depreciation of the cedi against Ghana’s major foreign currencies, particularly the US Dollar.
I have no doubt that the Bank of Ghana is doing its best to remedy the situation, but the central bank is doing its best to remedy the situation, but I must urge the central bank to urgently take all the requisite steps within its competence to return the foreign market to stability, in order to bring predictability to Ghana`s export and import trade, as well as other international financial transactions”, he said.
The cedi ended last week with a marginal appreciation, but the cedi has depreciated again to GH¢14.20 to one dollar which is the average quote by the forex bureaus.
According to the Bank of Ghana, however, the local currency is selling at GH¢13.014 on the interbank market. The cedi is also going for ¢15.60 and GH¢13.60 to one pound and one euro respectively.
The free fall of the cedi coupled with the recent economic crisis in the country has triggered calls for immediate measures to be implemented by the government to resolve the situation.
President Akufo Addo in his address on Sunday, October 30, announced some measures the government intends to put in place to address the fall of the cedi and the current economic crisis.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0314 and a selling price of 13.0444. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 14.30 and sold at a rate of 14.90.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 14.8450 and a selling price of 14.8624 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 15.0890 and a selling price of 15.1054.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 15.90 and sold at a rate of 16.75.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 14.00 and sold at a rate of 14.90.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7348 and a selling price of 0.7355 compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 0.7351 and a selling price of 0.7359.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.65 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.8835 and a selling price of 34.0337 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 33.9387 and a selling price of 34.0200.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 13.50 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 17.50.
In keynote remarks at the 26th National Banking Conference, where he was representing the Governor – Dr. Ernest Addison, Mr. Gyasi disclosed that all 23 universal banks have this year completed and submitted a template developed by the regulator in addition to its Sustainable Banking Principles and Sector Guidance Notes, to enable banks accelerate their ESG-compliance journey.
He said it marks an improvement on the number presented in September last year, and believes the development bodes well for the industry and wider economy’s long-term sustainability.
“As part of the efforts to promote sustainable banking, the BoG issued a monitoring guidance and reporting template to be completed by banks – which is used in monitoring levels of implementation for the principles and guidance notes. This self-assessment guide is meant to serve as a checklist that guides banks to take the necessary steps in developing the appropriate sustainable policies and procedures,” he explained at the conference, which had as its theme ‘The Future of Banking in Ghana: Ethics, Professionalism and ESG Imperatives’.
“In terms of compliance, reports submitted recently indicate that all 23 banks have completed and submitted the template; an improvement compared with the submission made in September 2021,” Mr. Gyasi added at the event organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIB).
His submission was consistent with the outcome of PwC’s 2022 Ghana Banking Survey Report – which surveyed 21 out of the 23 registered universal banks and found that 62 percent of the bank executives it surveyed confirmed the existence of plans to incorporate dedicated ESG principles in the near-term.
With ESG issues guaranteed to colour the banking landscape’s future – as evidenced by projections that the value of global ESG-leaning institutional investment will soar by 84 percent to US$33.9trillion in 2026 from US$18.9trillion in 2021 – the BoG’s representative said domestic banks must double down on their efforts to attract sustainable investments.
“Investors are now concerned about ESG performance and how they are reported, especially the impact of ESG on the balance of banks… Data compilation and analysis of ESG activities have become imperative in this rapidly evolving industry,” he said, adding that banks will prove critical in bridging the financing gap required for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and net-zero commitments to be met in a respectable time.
While there is heightened focus on the environmental and social aspects, Mr. Gyasi said recent developments in the nation’s financial landscape prove that significant emphasis must be placed on corporate governance.
He thus charged stakeholders in the industry not to treat guidelines and directives as mere checklists, but ensure that they are implemented as intended.
“The business of banking is evolving rapidly, hence there’s a need to be intentional in strict adherence to individual codes of ethics and professionalism; as well as the CIB and GAB’s code of ethics and banking practice in our various banks,” he added.
On his part, Chief Executive Officer at CIB, Robert Dzato, said with the risks and opportunities ESG presents to banks, the institute – as the foremost trainer of bankers – has begun an extensive programme to ensure bankers are well-equipped in this regard.
“Our role at CIB is to educate, and currently we are running a programme in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to train bankers in ESG,” he said, while affirming that ethics and professionalism will be permanent features of the programme.
Chairman for the occasion and CEO of the Ghana Association of Banks, John Awuah, said banks will continue to comply with the prevailing sustainable banking regulatory provisions as well as lead conversations around the subject while driving innovation.
According to him, certain essential goods are produced in Ghana but Ghanaians still prefer to make such purchases outside.
“Even today tiles that we produce in the country are being exported. There are things that can be produced in the country, why do you go to buy them from outside?” he said on myjoyonline.com
He charged businesses to be innovative and begin the production of items that are currently in high demand.
These items are rice, aluminum, toothpick, vegetable oil, etc.
“The economy has grown to the extent that we need 4 billion dollars to import fuel alone a month,” he said.
Nitiwul said, “if the Bank of Ghana is not able to raise over 4 billion dollars in a year, of foreign exchange for fuel, they would go to the black market, and when you do they will determine the rate, and when they do the cedi will depreciate.”
He charged Ghanaians to use the current economic challenges as a means to develop the economy.
The Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Dr John Kwakye has indicated that financial indiscipline is what is causing high inflation and also drop in the strength of the Cedi.
He noted that as the Central Bank continues to monetize the deficit through direct advances to government and takeover of maturing Treasury Bills, it must ensure that it is not breaching the lending ceiling and fiduciary currency issue.
“Fiscal and monetary indiscipline is fueling inflation and cedi depreciation. While we expect the Treasury and the Central Bank to collaborate positively, they are rather collaborating negatively as the former has been compelling the latter to monetize the deficit,” he tweeted.
His comments come at a time Bolga Central MP Isaac Adongo has accused Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) of illegally giving an amount of ¢70 billion to the government to finance matured debts.
The Deputy Ranking Member on the Finance Committee has served notice to sue Dr Addison over the matter.
Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday November 8, he said “Ask yourself why the same taxes that we imposed on petroleum products two years ago to deliver a liter of 4. 50 pesewas.
“So essentially, now the problem is not even about the taxes, it is about the exchange rate. Who is supposed to manage the exchange rate? It is the Governor of the central bank Dr Addison.”
He added “Another big problem we have now is inflation. The Bank of Ghana manages the inflationary target framework whiles the Ghana Statistical service reports actually but the man who is in charge of managing our inflation targeting framework and ensuring that inflation expectations are anchored, is the Governor of the Central Bank.
“The inflationary targeting framework within the confines of the Bank of Ghana provided very strict rules on what we call fiscal governance over monetary policy, in other words there are strict rules on the government of Ghana can borrow from the Bank of Ghana.
“Those restricted rules are quite clearly stated that the BoG at any point in time should not have lent more than five percent of the previous revenue cumulatively. If you consider last year ‘s revenue then the government cannot even borrow five million Cedis from the BoG.
“But by the end of the year 2021, Dr Addison has illegally lent to government ¢35billion, and by May this year he had added an additional ¢22billion when the Minister came at Mid year review. As we speak today, Dr Addison has been financing government and paying maturing debt obligations the domestic market that the government cannot find, we are currently looking at something in excess of 7billion of illegally borrowing by the Government of Ghana from the BoG.
“If you have a corrupt government such as Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia and you pump 70billion to the economy that does not belong to the economy, they steal them and they put them in their rooms under their beds.
“Under the current circumstance, the best storage of money is Dollars and not Cedis. So Dr Addison’s 70 billion are now in the homes and beds of government functionaries, is what is chasing the Dollar.
“How can Dr Addison still be the Governor of the Central bank? I call on Dr Addison as a matter of urgency, to exit BoG and give Ghana the chance to clear the mess. Today, I have instructed my lawyers to serve him notice and to remind him again of a letter I served him, that if by the end of the third meeting of the second sitting of the 8th Parliament, he has not complied with his obligation to parliament for us to exercise our oversight role, I will sue him and I will proceed to court.”
He admitted that Ghanaians were also living under harsh economic conditions with the prices of goods and services skyrocketing by the day.
Speaking at a forum organized by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), he said, “As the Minister of Finance, no one needs to tell me the ravages of the cedi depreciation which has become an albatross on the neck of our local industries and the high cost of living for all citizens.”
He was however optimistic the local currency will soon stabilize to allow businesses to heave a sigh of relief.
The Finance Minister said government and the central bank will deal with persons speculating false news about the cedi as the move leads to the depreciation of the local currency.
Ken Ofori-Atta further entreated local businesses to expand their production capacity to be able to produce more, as well as, create jobs for the teeming unemployed youth in the country.
He stressed that Ghana cannot continue to be a nation of importers.
According to him, the money taken from the central bank was used to finance government’s maturing debts on the domestic market.
The move, Mr Adongo said, was contrary to the Bank of Ghana’s Financial Management Act.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, he said, “There are strict rules on which the Government of Ghana can borrow from the Bank of Ghana, and the strict rules are quite clear, stating that, the Bank of Ghana at any point in time should have lent more than 5 percent of the previous revenue cumulatively.”
He added that, “If you consider last year’s revenue, the government cannot even borrow less than GH¢5 billion from the Bank of Ghana, but by the end of the year 2021, Dr Addison had illegally lent over GH¢35 billion and by May this year he had added GH¢22 billion.”
“As we speak today, Dr Addison has been financing the government and paying maturing debt obligations on the domestic market that the government cannot fund. We are currently looking at something in the region of GH¢70 billion of illegal borrowing by the government of Ghana through the Bank of Ghana,” the Bolgatanga Central MP stated.
“How can Dr Addison still be the governor of the central bank? I call on Dr Addison, as a matter of urgency, to exit that office and give Ghana the chance to clear the mess that he has created,” Mr Adongo said.
He attributed the frequent increase in petroleum products, transport fares, goods and services, among others to some policy decisions taken by Dr Ernest Addison.
According to him, some policy decision taken by Dr Ernest Addison has had dire consequences on the local economy.
He cited high inflation, depreciation of the cedi, increase in transport fares, goods and services, and price hikes in petroleum products, among others as some factors crippling the local economy.
“How can Dr. Addison still be the Governor of the Central Bank? I call on Dr. Addison as a matter of urgency to exit that office and give Ghana the chance to clear the mess that he has created…Dr Addison must be sacked. Otherwise, he must have the conscience to resign as the Governor of the Central Bank,” Isaac Adongo stated.
Addressing journalists in parliament on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, the Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo said, “we will evoke the exercise of the oversight responsibilities of parliament on BoG to deal with the governor for failing to manage Ghana’s monetary space.”
Ghana’s inflation, as of September 2022 stands at 37.2 per cent.
Prior to the announcement of the September 2022 inflation, the Bank of Ghana adjusted upwards the policy rate to 24.5% to fight inflation.
According to the data, food inflation for the month of September was 37.8% with non-food inflation at 36.8%.
The cedi on the other hand is buying at GH¢13.0114 and selling at GH¢13.0244 against the US dollar.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0012 and a selling price of 13.0142. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 13.90 and sold at a rate of 14.60.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 14.9085 and a selling price of 14.9247 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 14.6862 and a selling price of 14.7034.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 15.40 and sold at a rate of 16.25.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 13.0057 and a selling price of 13.0176 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 12.6818 and a selling price of 12.6945.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 13.40 and sold at a rate of 14.30.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7351 and a selling price of 0.7359 compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 0.7065 and a selling price of 0.7071.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.65 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 33.9986 and a selling price of 34.0623 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 34.0122 and a selling price of 34.0644.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 13.50 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 17.50.
A blogger and an IT expert have been brought before the Accra Circuit Court on allegations of disseminating fake information.
The IT expert Jeremiah Kobina Egyebeng was charged as the blogger Jeffrey Eppirim’s collaborator in the publication of false news.
According to a report by Graphic.com.gh, the suspects were detained by the police after an inquiry into a Bank of Ghana report on a publication that the central bank claimed had induced panic withdrawals and anxiety and panic among the general population.
The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Richard Amoah, told the court that the police gathered cyber intelligence that on October 27, 2022, the first accused person published an article on his news portal with the domain https://www.reportghana.net captioned, “Dollar account holders to get cedi at BOG rate for bank withdrawals effective October 31?”.
Nyame, according to the prosecution, shared his publication on various social media platforms, including WhatsApp, causing fear and panic among the general public.
Chief Insp. Amoah told the court that a police investigation established that the second accused person initially created the news portal, ‘reportghana.com’, for Nyame in the year 2019. This was used for the publication of similar articles but was closed down by Google for violating their community standard due to complaints received from users.
“However, Egyebeng again created a similar news portal but this time changed the domain from “dot com” to “dot net” and registered it as reportghana.net on February 11, 2022, to be able to use same for publication of articles and happenings in Ghana.
“After publishing the said false news, Nyame then shared the publication on WhatsApp group platforms including “reportghana news feed 1,” “reportghana news feed 2,” “reportghana news feed 3″ with over 160 active members where he was the administrator with his personal telephone numbers 0551993013 and 0574144388 registered on the platform,” the prosecutor told the court adding that the news was still circulating on social media.
Chief Insp Amoah also said that Nyame admitted to publishing the alleged false news but stated that he got the article from mynewsgh.com, but the investigation established otherwise and confirmed Nyame as the author and publisher.
Egyebeng, according to the prosecution, admitted to the creation of the news portal managed and used by Nyame.
The court presided over by Mrs Rosemary Baah Torsu admitted both suspects to a GH¢20,000 bail with two sureties each.
The court fixed the next hearing for December 29 this year, in which period the prosecution is expected to file all disclosures.
However, Chief Insp Amoah told the court that further investigations uncovered other persons involved in the publication but are currently at large, with efforts underway to arrest them.
On the Interbank forex rates from the Bank of Ghana as of November 7, 2022, the Ghana Cedi is trading against the dollar at a buying price of 13.0012 and a selling price of 13.0142.
As compared to Friday’s trading of a buying price of 13.0017 and a selling price of 13.0147. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 13.30 and sold at a rate of 14.00.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 14.6862 and a selling price of 14.7034 as compared to Friday’s trading at a buying price of 14.5346 and a selling price of 14.5517.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 14.50 and sold at a rate of 15.50.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 12.6818 and a selling price of 12.6945 as compared to Friday’s trading at a buying price of 12.6818 and a selling price of 12.6945.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 12.65 and sold at a rate of 13.55.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.7217 and a selling price of 0.7225 compared to Friday’s trading at a buying price of 0.7065 and a selling price of 0.7071.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.65 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 34.0122 and a selling price of 34.0644 as compared to Friday’s trading at a buying price of 34.0301 and a selling price of 34.0862.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 14.50 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 18.50.
With assurance from the Bank of Ghana that the recent appreciation will see a further improvement, given the measures it has rolled out and coming from the cocoa syndicated loan that has provided the needed buffer, the country’s troubled currency has not experienced a weekly loss in value against the US dollar for the first time in memorable weeks.
According to data from the Bank of Ghana, the cedi has not lost any value against the dollar over the last week. This is in contrast to October, when it lost 25.2 percent of its value against the dollar alone, going from GH9.6 to GH13 at the beginning of the month.
At the close of business on Friday, November 4, 2022, the exchange rate between the local currency and the US dollar remained at GH13 to 1.
Speaking in an interview with the B&FT, Head of Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department at the Bank of Ghana, Yaw Sapong, said the cedi’s strength against the dollar can be attributed to actions recently taken by the central bank to crack down on illegal forex activities, popularly known as black market operations, together with the closure of some forex bureaux which were not playing according to rules of the game.
“Our efforts are yielding results because we have noted that there is increased traffic to forex bureaux. People who hitherto would look elsewhere for foreign currency are now using forex bureaux. We have also noticed that the hotspots where some of the illegal forex operators were doing their activities openly are no longer in existence.
“We have also seen that the cedi is doing better than before. Over the last few days, the cedi has appreciated against the dollar. Speculation has also reduced drastically, and that is one of the successes we can say comes as a result of measures from the Bank of Ghana,” he said.
He further stated that the cocoa syndicated loan coming will also provide the bank with enough buffers to address the forex needs of big-ticket transactions, while the forex bureaux will focus on serving individuals with lesser need for forex.
Mr. Sapong is upbeat that the cedi’s appreciation against the dollar will persist in the coming weeks, given the Bank of Ghana’s measures being implemented and proposed programme with the IMF, adding that the speculation must stop.
“We think the cedi will further appreciate with the efforts we are putting in, and the cocoa syndicated loan in addition to the proposed IMF programme. So we believe the cedi will strengthen further, and we are urging people to stop the speculation,” he said.
Market-watcher Aza Finance, in its weekly report, acknowledged that the cedi’s performance against the US dollar results from measures introduced by the regulator.
“The recovery was aided by a Bank of Ghana clampdown on illegal FX traders. Dollar-demand remains heavy ahead of the Christmas period as importers seek to pay for goods in time for the festive shopping season,” the market-watcher stated.
Following calls for his dismissal, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, a former finance minister, wants Ken Ofori-Atta, the current finance minister, to quit.
According to him, the Minister is facing a strong wave of public outrage and needs to stand down right away so that someone else can take over.
“It’s unfortunate, but I don’t understand why he should have that position given that he has been rejected by both sides, the majority and the minority.
When your own people are demanding your resignation as a minister, there is no value in continuing in that position.
The former governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) indicated on Ghana Kasa on Kasapa 102.5 FM that quitting now would be the wisest course of action for him.
Parliament will on Thursday, November 10, 2022, begin the debate on the motion of censure filed by the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, for the removal of the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
Presenting the Business Statement for the week on the floor of Parliament last Friday, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said Ofori-Atta’s removal remained a key feature for the week.
Reports say the whole NPP caucus in parliament now supports calls for the Finance Minister to resign or be sacked.
“Even though the issue started with a group of 80-plus, the caucus meeting aligned with the decision of that group.”
“So it is no longer the cause of the 80-plus group. It is the agenda for the entire caucus,” Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu told journalists in Parliament.
