Ghanaian traders are alarmed over the plummeting value of the local currency and its effects on their businesses.
In a statement, the Ghana Union of Traders Association, GUTA, stated that “the depreciation of the cedi against other major trading currencies is getting out of hand, and the increase in the monetary policy rate is also leading to high lending rate in the country.”
According to GUTA, as a result of the depreciation, businesses have reached a situation where their survival is seriously threatened if no immediate action is taken by the Government to find a solution.
“It could be recalled that since December 2021 when the dollar was 6.4 cedis, our working capitals have been depleted by 40%. Now that, the dollar has reached about 9.00 cedis, our worst fear is that we are now going to make Christmas orders from our suppliers, which may aggravate the situation.”
It added that “Allowing foreigners into the retail trade and wholesale sectors of the economy will not help this country, but rather defeat the action plan set for the implementation of 1D 1F, AfCFTA and the general industrialization in Ghana.”
“We also want to remind the Government that the big-time institutional importers, especially, those who serve as conduits for dumping goods mainly from China are the culprits,” GUTA noted.
GUTA, therefore, called on the government to “as a matter of urgency, reconvene the Foreign Exchange Committee that was set up a few years ago by the Finance Ministry which involved all relevant stakeholders, to help find an immediate solution.”
According to GUTA, “If immediate remedial measures are not taken to control this alarming situation, we may be using One Million Ghana cedis to buy only One Hundred Thousand US dollars when the dollar reaches 10.00 Ghana cedis.”
“At this point in time, if nothing is done, speculations would be rife and serious panic will set in for people to invest in forex as a matter of security for their hard-earned working capital, thereby making control of such a situation difficult for the government,” they added.
SOURCE: myjoyonline.com
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