You have a degree in economics, you should know about market forces – Martin Amidu to Akufo-Addo

Former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has berated President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for saying that profiteering and speculation by Ghanaians are the main reason for the hikes in prices of food items and the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi. In a statement addressed to the president, sighted by GhanaWeb, Amidu intimated that Akufo-Addo as an economics graduate, should know better. He added that if the president should have engaged stakeholders to let them know of the measures the government is taking to get the country out of the current hardships, they will not engage in speculation. “Mr. President, you hold a university degree in economics from the University of Ghana, (courtesy the late Mr. Justice Philip Edward Archer), and you know how market forces work. How then do you pretend to shift blame from your poor management of our economy by saying that the “recent turbulence on the financial markets was caused by low inflows of foreign exchange and was made worse in the last two to three weeks, in particular, by the activities of speculators and the Black Market.” “What efforts did you as the President of Ghana make to bring all stakeholders together to brainstorm on your plans for the resuscitating your mismanaged economy at the earliest opportunity to avoid your political opponents speculating on your plans with the IMF? "Does it lie in your mouth, Mr. President, to resort to the blame game and state that: “An anonymous two-minute audio message on a WhatsApp platform predicting a so-called haircut on Government bonds sent all of us into banks and forex bureaus to dump our cedis, and, before we knew it, the cedi had depreciated further.”? Is it not too late in the day for you to remind all Ghanaians that we can each “play a part in helping to strengthen the cedi by having confidence in the currency and avoiding speculation.”?” he queried. As part of his October 30, 2022, address on the economy, the president regretted instances where people have through unorthodox means triggered depreciation of the cedi, especially through speculation. He charged the populace to do all it takes to protect the cedi by way of complementing efforts that the government has so far put in place. "Fellow Ghanaians, as the French would say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpɛ dede. Where there is chaos, where there is noise, where there is unrest, you will not find money. "If you talk down your money, it will go down. If you allow some unidentifiable person to talk down your money, it will go down," he stressed. You can watch this episode of People & Places, E-Forum on GhanaWeb TV: IB/BOG

Former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has berated President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for saying that profiteering and speculation by Ghanaians are the main reason for the hikes in prices of food items and the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi. In a statement addressed to the president, sighted by GhanaWeb, Amidu intimated that Akufo-Addo as an economics graduate, should know better. He added that if the president should have engaged stakeholders to let them know of the measures the government is taking to get the country out of the current hardships, they will not engage in speculation. “Mr. President, you hold a university degree in economics from the University of Ghana, (courtesy the late Mr. Justice Philip Edward Archer), and you know how market forces work. How then do you pretend to shift blame from your poor management of our economy by saying that the “recent turbulence on the financial markets was caused by low inflows of foreign exchange and was made worse in the last two to three weeks, in particular, by the activities of speculators and the Black Market.” “What efforts did you as the President of Ghana make to bring all stakeholders together to brainstorm on your plans for the resuscitating your mismanaged economy at the earliest opportunity to avoid your political opponents speculating on your plans with the IMF? "Does it lie in your mouth, Mr. President, to resort to the blame game and state that: “An anonymous two-minute audio message on a WhatsApp platform predicting a so-called haircut on Government bonds sent all of us into banks and forex bureaus to dump our cedis, and, before we knew it, the cedi had depreciated further.”? Is it not too late in the day for you to remind all Ghanaians that we can each “play a part in helping to strengthen the cedi by having confidence in the currency and avoiding speculation.”?” he queried. As part of his October 30, 2022, address on the economy, the president regretted instances where people have through unorthodox means triggered depreciation of the cedi, especially through speculation. He charged the populace to do all it takes to protect the cedi by way of complementing efforts that the government has so far put in place. "Fellow Ghanaians, as the French would say, l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpɛ dede. Where there is chaos, where there is noise, where there is unrest, you will not find money. "If you talk down your money, it will go down. If you allow some unidentifiable person to talk down your money, it will go down," he stressed. You can watch this episode of People & Places, E-Forum on GhanaWeb TV: IB/BOG