Cedi will continue to be rated as worst-performing if we don't stop the politics – Financial analyst

Financial analyst, Prince Obiri Yeboah, says Ghana’s ranking as the fourth worst-performing currency among the top 150 currencies internationally is unsurprising.

The economist and banker warned that Ghana’s currency would remain among the worst-performing because we are constantly engaging in deceitful politics.

He stated that in this country, every monetary operation has been dollarized, resulting in the depreciation of our local currency.

Mr. Yeboah said even in our budgets, we spend everything in dollar denominations.

He expressed worry at the situation where we pay workers, including players, in dollars.

According to recent data from Bloomberg, the Cedi depreciated by 0.2% to 14.9335 per dollar by the close of trading in Accra on Monday, June 10, 2024.

Since the beginning of the year, the local currency has declined in value by 20% against the US dollar.

The recent record-low performance of the Cedi has been attributed to increased demand for the US dollar to purchase petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, and other imported goods.

Commenting on this, the economist said, “It is not surprising that Ghana’s currency has been ranked as the fourth worst performing currency globally. We will continue to be counted among the worst-performing currencies in the world because we always engage in the politics of deceit. This is a country where we use dollar-dollar quotations for designing our budget."

"This is a country where our international hotels quote their charges in dollars. This is a country where people who work, i.e., the Black Stars, are paid in dollars. When the politicians are talking about this, they make it look as if we import so much from abroad, which is why our currency keeps depreciating. I have said this and will reiterate that if we continue to make these narrow arguments, we will continue to struggle.”

He explained that all over the world, more than 70% of countries record deficits in their trade balances.

“What this means is that when you evaluate the imports and exports of countries, the balance of trade is in deficit, including China, which is a major exporting country. Yet they have managed their affairs so that their local currency will not depreciate against other currencies.

He told host Kwabena Agyapong that as of 2022, America was a major importing country, followed by France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and China in that order.

"In Africa, South Africa, Egypt, and Ivory Coast, all of them import more goods than Ghana. But what do we see about their currencies? I believe that we have failed to deal with the fundamental problems since the days of Adam, and so our currency will still be counted among the worst-performing currencies.

"We are not doing things right, and we are always trying to engage in the blame game and make excuses. As long as we continue to continue in that line, we shouldn’t expect anything different, and the cedi will continue to perform badly along with the competitors.”