President John Dramani Mahama has announced an exchange rate target for the Bank of Ghana after admitting that the Central Bank intervened in the foreign exchange market which caused Ghana’s currency to appreciate.
At his maiden press briefing at the Jubilee House, President Mahama said the Central Bank’s intervention was intended to halt the depreciation of the cedi but stressed the effect of the intervention contributed to the over-valuing of the cedi, hence the withdrawal of the intervention to allow the cedi find it’s natural value.
“I believe it was about stopping the rapid depreciation of the currency. When you have steep depreciation like we experienced in 2024 — 25% in just the first half of the year — it makes planning difficult. And so yes, the Bank of Ghana was intervening in the forex market but they have now withdrawn,” President Mahama said.
President Mahama noted that following the withdrawal, the cedi is adjusting, assuring that the government will put in place measures to contain the current depreciation of the currency.
Among the measures President Mahama announced was a target set for the Bank of Ghana.
“The cedi is making an adjustment and I believe it will settle at a certain rate. We will make sure that any depreciation in the value of the cedi stays within about 5% per annum,” President Mahama said.
However, skeptics have shared their concerns about feasibility of the President’s statement.