Moves to stabilise the cedi

The Daily Graphic, in its top story, reports that the government is expecting about $180 million From official inflows and credit to help stabilise the cedi by the end of the year. Mr Moses Asaga, A Deputy Minister of Finance, who is quoted as disclosing this in Accra, said as part of the short-term measures to check the depreciation of the cedi, the government has lined up official inflows amounting $80 million and $100 million credit from the foreign banks, otherwise called cocoa financing facility, for the purchase of cocoa.

"We are also counting on remittance from Ghanaians abroad at this time of the year and tourist inflows to contribute to the efforts aimed at stabilising the cedi", he is quoted as saying.

The Graphic says that the Deputy Minister explained that the strong demand for dollars as a result of an increase in crude oil price, which exerted an extra cost of about $150 million on government resources and the seasonal nature of the demand for dollars for importation of Christmas goods, were the reasons for the depreciation of the cedi, which had temporarily stabilised from 1998 to June, this year.