Kwabena Agyapong, a member of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign team and former General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), has expressed that it is a mistake for the dollar to be valued at more than 5 cedis.
Speaking on Peace FM’s morning show *Kokrokoo*, Agyapong emphasized that the economy is the single most difficult issue to handle. While acknowledging that economic challenges are a global phenomenon, he noted that Ghana is also experiencing significant hardship.
“Dr. Bawumia is the Vice President, but we currently have a government in place,” he said. Agyapong added, “I believe the floating currency mechanism hasn’t worked for us. It’s a Western concept. In Europe, the economy is highly regulated; you can’t apply their methods to a country with an informal economy like ours.”
He further explained that the COVID-19 pandemic brought major challenges, with many businesses collapsing or stalling. “How did the dollar move from 7 to 16 during that time?” he asked.
“Every country is backed by a commodity, and gold is one of the biggest commodities used by foreign powers to support their currency. As one of the world’s largest gold producers, I don’t believe we should ever buy a dollar for more than 5 cedis,” Agyapong concluded.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s local currency continues to experience persistent depreciation against major foreign currencies like the US dollar. Checks by YawaNews on September 17, 2024, show that the cedi is trading at GH¢16.14 to the dollar, while the pound is trading at GH¢21.28 at several major forex bureaus across the country.
