The Member of Parliament for Asokwa and the Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, Honourable Patricia Appiagyei, has attributed the recent gains of the Ghana cedi against the dollar to Donald Trump’s policies.
Speaking in an interview, the Asokwa legislator said the government of President John Dramani Mahama has not implemented any policies that can be pointed to as the cause for the depreciation of the dollar against the cedi.
She said any economist worth their salt knows the cedi’s appreciation is due to the U.S. tariff policies of President Donald Trump, which have reduced demand for the dollar.
“Any economist will tell you that Donald Trump’s policies has reduced the strength of the dollar,” she said. “However, the euro, pound, and other international currencies, including the Chinese yuan, have not depreciated against the cedi.”
According to her, the NDC government should stop patting themselves on the back and taking credit for the cedi rising against the dollar. She said if the appreciation were real, it would reflect in the downward adjustment of prices but that has yet to happen.
“There is nothing to celebrate because the cost of living of Ghanaians has not changed,” she said. “It’s only temporal,”
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The Ghana cedi has strongly rallied against its major trading partners in recent weeks, currently trading at less than Ghc 13 to one dollar.
The Deputy Minority leader’s assertions were debunked by social media users, who pointed out the appreciation of the cedi has also happened against the pound and euro.
Traders to Reduce Prices by August
Meanwhile, while the leadership of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has called on members to reduce prices due to the recent appreciation of the cedi, individual traders are resisting the call.
In an interview with the media, one trader said they ordered goods using the old dollar rate, and until they sell them and order new goods with the new rate, they cannot reduce their prices.
The trader said that, looking at the logistics of her trade, the earliest consumers can see a price reduction is in August.