'Sika mpɛ dede' – Shatta Wale reacts to Akufo-Addo’s viral quote on Ghana cedi

In delivering his address on the state of the economy, President Akufo-Addo spent some time on the need for all Ghanaians to take steps to protect the Ghana cedi, which has been suffering massive depreciation against the United States dollar. In seeking to buttress his point, Akufo-Addo employed a French proverb about money stating thus: "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. Shatta Wale joined the hundreds of tweeps who commented on the quote hours after the address. He wrote: “Sika mp3 dede ???????????????? I for feature this man la ????” On social media, the proverb has gone viral with people poking fun with it, others analyzing it whiles others are giving it an interpretation of their own. See Shatta Wale’s quote below:

Sika mp3 dede ???????????????? I for feature this man la ????— SHATTA WALE (@shattawalegh) October 31, 2022 Watch Akufo-Addo's full address on the economy below: See some social media reactions below:

Sika mp3 dede! Over to you my “Fellow Ghanaians” pic.twitter.com/e63zI2Onds— Ernest Arhinful (@khaptain4real) October 30, 2022

12 measures? ???? Nana Addo didn't read the speech you wrote for him oo...He read the one with sika mp3 dede???? pic.twitter.com/sUP7F1WJYW— Raphael Eyram (@RaphaelEyram) October 30, 2022

Looks like @stonebwoy knew this day was coming. "sika mpɛ dede" pic.twitter.com/SyJOBmLuNF— Paul Nyamador ???????? (@paulkplorla) October 30, 2022

Sika mp3 dede. Shut up and suffer.— Kwame Dussey???? (@fatheranthoni) October 30, 2022

Sika mp3 dede, coming from someone who turned 2gh notes to coins— ???????????????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????????? (@Mzdelah) October 30, 2022

So, Prez Akufo-Addo says he knows the increasing cost of living is a concern for Ghanaians, but money doesn't like noise so if we keep complaining about the crisis, there'll be unrest and we won't find money. In summary, I KNOW YOU'RE SUFFERING BUT SIKA MP3 DEDE SO SHUT UP!!! ????— Mirpuri???? (@InterBoy1908) October 30, 2022

“Sika mp3 Dede” I knew this man was a fraud boy— DR. Sneaker Nyame (@SneakerNyame_) October 30, 2022

“Sika mpε dede” s3 wati ? pic.twitter.com/w9Uo6mITJ4— Mempeasem President (@AsieduMends) October 30, 2022

l’argent n’aime pas le bruit, to wit, money does not like noise, sika mpɛ dede Showboy et al, 2022. Reviving the economy, pg 1.— kofi (@kaywart) October 30, 2022

Shall we observe a 1 hour nationwide silence tomorrow, to facilitate the rise of the cedi. ????♂️#Sikampɛdede Sika mp3 dede— Ing Najeeb (@ingnajib) October 30, 2022

Our theme for 2023 is official “Sika mp3 dede” ????????— Enarya (@iamowusuaa) October 30, 2022

Sika mp3 Dede !! ???????? “ Money does not like noise “ - Nana Addo to Ghanaians pic.twitter.com/kTl0C0mDft— BUILT DIFFERENT (@kobe_boujee88) October 30, 2022 Other issues raised in the address: On other issues, he updated citizens on progress made with IMF negotiations and also efforts to stabilize the economy in the midst of rapidly depreciating currency and galloping inflation. Among the measures cabinet took after a three-day retreat aimed towards preparing for the address were as follows: 1) enhanced supervisory action by the Bank of Ghana in the forex bureau markets and the black market to flush out illegal operators, as well as ensuring that those permitted to operate legally abide by the market rules. Already some forex bureaus have had their licenses revoked, and this exercise will continue until complete order is restored in the sector; 2) Fresh inflows of dollars are providing liquidity to the foreign exchange market, and addressing the pipeline demand; 3) the Bank of Ghana has given its full commitment to the commercial banks to provide liquidity to ensure the wheels of the economy continue to run in a stabilized manner, till the IMF Programme kicks in and the financing assurances expected from other partners also come in; 4) Government is working with the Bank of Ghana and the oil producing and mining companies to introduce a new legal and regulatory framework to ensure that all foreign exchange earned from operations in Ghana are, initially, paid to banks domiciled in Ghana to help boost the domestic foreign exchange market; and 5) the Bank of Ghana will enhance its gold purchase programme.