Stop playing politics with cedi depreciation - Prof. Bokpin to NDC, NPP

Economist, Prof Godfred A. Bokpin has charged the two major political parties in the country, the NDC and NPP, not to be political when it comes to the depreciation of the cedi.

According to him, the cedi has been depreciating since its introduction in the 1960s and it will continue to depreciate for a long time so theories various political

Read full articleparties present to stabilise it can’t be substantiated.

He said the use of the cedi’s fluctuations in politics will lead to people holding politicians accountable for the solutions they propose while in opposition and their ability to succeed when given the power.

“We are getting to the stage where we can conclude that politicians will have to be measured in terms of what they seek to offer and their ability to do it. But whether it is the NPP or the NDC, the reality on the ground is that you cannot do politics with the cedi,” he said on Newsfile.

The professor of finance at the University of Ghana noted that the Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, exaggerated when he promised to stabilize the cedi while the NPP was in opposition.

“A certain exaggeration of the ability to do something was at play that is common knowledge now… not being untruthful, because you’re in opposition the way you see something is different and when you’re in power, the way things play out is different,” he noted.

“Sometimes the theory doesn’t work the way it is expected, and the reason is not that the theory is wrong, but because the assumptions cannot be validated within the context.”

The lecturer added that the terrible performance of the cedi in 2019 was partly because the central bank was thinking about building foreign reserves.

“2019 under the NPP is a bit terrible largely also because, I sense that the Bank of Ghana from the middle of last year, perhaps, was thinking about building its international reserves. Maybe looking forward to 2020 which is rather the election year where the exposure is high and therefore perhaps did not do market intervention, maybe to steer the depreciation within a certain gap because they were looking forward.”

Dr. Bopkin, however, noted that one thing the NDC has failed to do in opposition is giving Ghanaians something to think about, something Dr Bawumia did with his lectures and strategies when the NPP was in opposition.