The continuous depreciation in the value of the cedi has slowed down business and worsened the purchasing ability of many Ghanaians.
With our economy depending virtually on importation of goods to survive, the low value of the cedi has affected the pockets of many ordinary Ghanaians who look forward to far-reaching measures by the government to stem the fall of the cedi to restore the economy to a sound footing.
Although the Bank of Ghana has announced measures to make the cedi regain its strength against the major trading currencies, many Ghanaians expect that the government will announce further measures to deal with the situation.
That is why many Ghanaians are looking forward to the next State of the Nation Address. That address is a common feature on the calendar of many democratic nations throughout the world and it is used by leaders to present the state of affairs in their respective countries and announce their governments’ blueprint to handle any challenges.
The 1992 Constitution mandates the President of Ghana to present a State of the Nation Address, after which Parliament is enjoined to debate the address.
The health of the Ghanaian economy and the strength of the cedi have so dominated discussions throughout the country and beyond such that when President John Mahama goes to Parliament next Tuesday to present his State of the Nation Address, we all expect that he will announce further plans to put the economy on a sound footing.
With a near eight per cent drop in the value of the cedi to the dollar from January to date, many are expectant that next Tuesday’s address to Parliament will announce measures to deal with the difficulties in the services and industrial sectors of the economy, having the Ghanaian investor in mind.
The Bank of Ghana has already issued some directives to stabilise the free fall cedi, and although there have been some criticisms of the directives so far, the Daily Graphic is convinced that these measures will be allowed to work for the full benefits to be realised.
Again, the Daily Graphic expects that when the President goes to Parliament, he will give a clear indication as to the direction of the economy and the way forward to reassure Ghanaians that the government is in firm control of affairs.
Over the years, many State of the Nation addresses have sounded like campaign addresses in which many sweet promises are made, with no fulfilment of those promises.
In the upcoming address, Ghanaians need to be reassured that they took the right decision when they decided that President John Mahama and his team should be at the helm of affairs from January 7, 2013 to January 6, 2017.
