Bawumia has given Mahama another gap with e-Cedi project - Tema MCE

The Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Yohane Amarh Ashitey, has lavished praise on Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, after a recent update on the government’s progress with preparations to roll out a digital version of the local currency, the cedi.

In a social media post on Thursday, the MCE stated that the vision and outlook for the E-Cedi places Dr. Bawumia, who is also the 2024 Flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), notches above his main opponent in the upcoming election, Former President John Mahama.

“Dr. Bawumia has always been the better thinker and better innovator than John Mahama and the addition of the e-cedi project stretches the gap that he has already given Mr. John Mahama in matters of superior statecraft and governance policies.”

The E-Cedi, a digital equivalent of the local currency, was originally conceptualized by the Bank of Ghana (BOG) in 2021.

Despite the successful completion of a trial phase, the official launch of the E-Cedi has been delayed due to what the BOG has termed economic disruptions.

Addressing the 14th Commonwealth Regional Conference for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa in Accra, Dr. Bawumia underscored the significance of leveraging digital technologies in the fight against corruption.

“We are also using digital technology to track money and suspicious activity and we are working very closely with the central bank and they are piloting to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC) which we call the E-Cedi.

“And with the successful piloting of the E-Cedi, which is essentially a digital version of our currency with appropriate privacy protections. With that successful pilot, it will be the ultimate weapon in our fight against corruption.”

“The CBDC will be the ultimate weapon because the E-Cedi will make it easy to track the movement of money and identify suspicious activity. It will provide us with high-level transparency, reduce the risk of fraud, and reduce the level of tax avoidance and money laundering,” Dr. Bawumia stated.

According to the Tema MCE, the e-cedi is Dr. Bawumia’s superior response to former president Mahama’s 24-hour economy proposal.

“With e-cedi, most of the human interface will be removed from handling the cedi bills and the enhanced virtual payment technology will drive an economy that never rests. This renders Mr. Mahama’s 24-hour economy as an inferior proposal,” Yohane Amarh Ashitey wrote.