The acting CEO of Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson, has challenged the Cedi depreciation figures presented by Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam.
He argues that the data provided by the Minister does not align with the figures from the Bank of Ghana over the same period.
The Minister at his monthly briefing on the economy, claimed that the exchange rate had largely stabilized, with the depreciation of the cedi against the US Dollar halving from 54.2% at the end of November 2022 to 27.8% at the end of December 2023.
The Finance Minister also projected that the cedi would strengthen in the medium term following the completion of the domestic debt exchange programme.
“But for recent pressures we are seeing on exchange rate movements, the exchange rate has been largely stabilised with the depreciation of the cedi against the US Dollar halving from 54.2% at the end of Nov 2022 to 27.8% at the end of Dec 2023.”
However, Mr Jackson contends that these figures are inconsistent with the Bank of Ghana’s data, suggesting a discrepancy in the reported economic performance.
“The minister may have gotten his figures a little wrong. I don’t think that in May 2023 it was that kind of figure.
“If you go online and you look at Bank of Ghana’s rate and other quoted rates; anybody can go to www.xe.com, put US dollar to cedi rate, you will see that today’s rate is quoted as 14.55 coming from the central bank.
“On May 24, 2024, the quoted rate there is 10.75. Today, the quoted rate is 14.55, the depreciation is around 24%,” he insisted.
Source: myjoyonline.com
