Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has countered claims made in the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review, challenging the assertion that the recent appreciation of the Ghanaian cedi is unprecedented in the country’s history.
Addressing Parliament on Thursday, July 31, Afenyo-Markin argued that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government had already taken decisive steps to stabilise the currency before handing over power.
While acknowledging the cedi’s current performance, he criticised what he described as a narrow and selective interpretation of economic data. He urged policymakers to consider the broader context of Ghana’s economic trajectory.
“The Minister jubilantly proclaimed, ‘cedi no apicki’—as though nothing had been done prior to 2025. That is misleading,” Afenyo-Markin said. “By the end of 2023, the NPP had effectively curbed the cedi’s free-fall.”
He attributed the severe depreciation in 2022 to external shocks, including high U.S. interest rates and surging global commodity prices following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. These global developments, he stressed, impacted many emerging economies, not just Ghana.
Afenyo-Markin credited the NPP administration’s strategic policies—such as the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), domestic debt restructuring, and the Gold-for-Oil initiative—for restoring investor confidence and easing pressure on the cedi.
“By the end of 2024, the cedi’s depreciation had moderated to just 19 percent year-on-year, a significant improvement from the previous year’s decline,” he noted.
He concluded by urging Parliament to evaluate the currency's performance through a long-term lens rather than focusing solely on recent gains under the current administration led by President John Mahama.
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