Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has assured that
government remains committed to implementing measures to address the perennial
depreciation of the Ghana cedi against its major trading partners.
The Minister gave the assurance when he responded to a
question posed to him in Parliament by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bongo
Constituency, Edward Abambire on Wednesday, June 22, 2022.
According to the Minister, the government has so far
implemented a 30% cut in expenditures as part of measures to reduce the fiscal
deficit noting that this is geared toward helping reduce the pressures on the
exchange rate.
“Government is complementing efforts to keep the cedi afloat
through its fiscal consolidation measures and real sector interventions. The
implementation of the 30% cut in expenditures and other expenditure measures
approved by Cabinet are all helping to reduce the fiscal deficit and thereby
reduce the pressures on the exchange rate,” he said.
He said, in addition, the government is undertaking real
sector interventions including the Ghana CARES programme to support import
substitution of products such as poultry, rice, and other essential commodities
thereby reducing foreign exchange pressures from the imports of those products.
Mr Ofori-Atta said the government is also arranging to raise
about US$1.0 billion to support the 2022 Budget and foreign exchange reserves.
This forex inflow he explained is expected to improve the
supply of the foreign currency and the stability of the local currency.
Source: King
Edward Ambrose Washman Addo