The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) Dr. Johnson Asiama has assured that decisive measures will be taken to help halt dollarisation of the economy.
He revealed that the Bank of Ghana is currently working with relevant agencies in the country to ensure that the Ghana cedi is the only legal tender for all financial transactions.
The Governor revealed this when the management members, board of directors and two deputy governors of the Bank of Ghana paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.
Dr. Asiama appealed to the Asantehene to support the Bank of Ghana in its campaign to educate the public on the cedi as the only legal tender in Ghana.
He stated that the eminent personality of the Asantehene can complement the efforts of the central bank in its drive to make the public understand that the cedi is the only legal tender in the country.
“We have always been preaching to Ghanaians that the cedi is the only legal tender in Ghana and we believe that we can also seek the support of the Asantehene”, Dr. Asiama said.
“The Bank of Ghana is working hard to firmly stabilise the cedi and we also believe that should also help in dealing with this challenge”, he added.
Enforcing cedi’s legal tender status
Dr. Asiama disclosed that the central bank is adopting different approaches to appeal to the public to voluntarily educate the people on the importance of widely accepting the cedi as the only legal tender.
“The Bank of Ghana apart from enforcing the law, will also use moral suasion to ensure that all transactions and sale of goods are priced in the cedis in the country”.
He explained to the Asantehene that “without a dominant legal tender like the Ghana cedi, no central bank, no matter how technically capable, can execute its mandate successfully”.
“If we all embrace the cedi, that will go a long way to stabilise the local currency and help smoothen their work on the monetary side”.
“In countries like Kenya and South Africa, it would be unthinkable for a citizen to reject the local currency in favour of the US dollar”.
He stated that building currency confidence is not just a function of policy but a function of collective behavior.
Ghana’s IMF programme and monetary interventions
The Governor used the opportunity to brief the Asantehene on some monetary measures taken as well as the current state of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme with Ghana.
“We took over at a very challenging time, when it comes to the economy and even how the IMF programme was performing, but we have taken some tough measures to stabilize things” he added.
Touching on the Bank of Ghana’s upcoming 60th anniversary of the cedi, Dr. Asiama pledged that the central bank will engage the office of the Asantehene in its celebration.
“We will formally send an invitation to the Asantehene to participate in the programmes that we have lined up”.
on his part, the Asantehene reminded the Bank of Ghana of its critical role on reducing inflation and also making the Ghana cedi stable.
He commended the Bank of Ghana for working with the Finance Ministry to stabilize the economy as well as the cedi.
“I can see there is strong coordination between the monetary and fiscal side and that is commendable”, he said.
He appealed to the Bank of Ghana to improve lending to the private sector, especially small business.
“How is the Bank of Ghana working with the fiscal side to improve lending and pay outstanding arrears, especially when it comes to paying contractors” he quizzed.
He enquired whether, the country’s reserves are in a strong position to support payments due investors from next year and in 2027.
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