Government working to halt cedi depreciation - John Kumah

The government has initiated a raft of measures to address the depreciation of the cedi, a Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr John Ampontuah Kumah.

The cedi local currency has recorded a -28.82% depreciation to the dollar as of August 8th, 2022.

In a post on Facebook, Mr Kumah said a key measure to halt the slide has been the use of the "Forward Foreign Exchange Auction which has helped to moderate the spot demand. Government is committed to deepening the Forward Foreign Exchange Auction to take away the spot demand pressure".

He was hopeful that the recently approved US$750,000,000 by Parliament upon completion of the loan process will boost the Foreign Exchange position of the government.

Mr Kumah added that the government was working assiduously with Afrexim Bank to finalize the loan.

Additionally, he said the government had secured US$250,000,000 from selected banks awaiting Parliamentary approval and announced a Gold Purchase Programme to boost reserves.

He posted: "We expect Parliament to be recalled back to Parliament to consider and approve the facility. This will go a long way to increase the FX position of the Central Bank.

"Again, apart from the normal forex purchases the BoG conduct, the Cocoa Loan is also expected soon. That facility will also give support to the Foreign Exchange position of the country.

"The recently announced Gold Purchase Programme will also contribute significantly to the building of a healthy reserve for the country".

He was confident that when the IMF programme when finalized will also go a long way to help build confidence in the economy and stem portfolio outflows.

"The fiscal consolidation measures introduced by the government including a freeze on purchase of vehicles and foreign travels are also helping to reduce government demand for Foreign Exchange and are boosting confidence in the economy. Government anticipates that soon, the situation will change for the better".